Acoustic Guide

D E S I G N G U I D E
A
C
O
U
S
T
I
C
I n s u l a t i o n D e s i g n G u i d e
ACOUSTIC
A C O U S T I C D E S I G N G U I D E
C S R B R A D F O R D I N S U L A T I O N 2
Introduction 2
Product Range, Applications
& Selection Guides 3 13
Bradford Acoustic Solutions
Party & Interior Walls
Residential & Commercial 14
External Walls 18
Roof/Ceiling Systems 18
Floor/Ceiling Systems 23
Floors 24
Plumbing 25
Gutters & Downpipes 26
Pipes, Tanks & Vessels 27
Factories & Workshops 27
Acoustic Baffles 29
Acoustic Enclosures 30
Vibration Damping 34
Air Conditioning Systems 36
Bradford Acoustic Solutions for
Specialty Applications
Home Cinema 46
Auditoriums 47
Sports Complexes 48
Canteens/Restaurants 50
Karaoke/Night Clubs 50
Shopping Centres 51
Recording Studios 52
Heavy Plant 53
OEM Application 53
Appendix A The Nature of Sound 54
Sound Transmission 57
Flanking Paths 59
Sound Absorption 59
Reverberation 61
Room Acoustics 64
Industrial Acoustics 67
Speech Privacy 68
Appendix B Floor/Ceiling Systems 69 70
Appendix C Product Data 71
Sound Absorption Coefficients 74
Static Insertion Loss/Silencers 77
Air Flow Resistivity 78
Appendix D Terminology 79
CSR Bradford Insulation
Regional Contact Details 80
Contents.
Introduction.
The Bradford Insulation Group forms part of the
Building Materials Division of CSR Limited. CSR
Bradford Insulation manufactures and markets an
extensive range of insulation products offering outstanding
thermal, acoustic and fire protection properties for use in
all types of domestic and commercial buildings.
Two mineral fibre insulation types are available;
Bradford Glasswool, which is manuf actured by
controlled felting of biosoluble glass wool bonded with
a thermosetting resin; and Bradford Fibertex
Rockwool
which is spun from natural rock and bonded with a
thermosetting resin. Both are available in sheet or roll
form and as moulded pipe insulation.
Bradford Thermofoil
and Thermotuff
are a range
of aluminium foil laminates available in various grades.
All CSR Bradford Insulation products are tested to
meet stringent quality control standards incorporating
quality management systems such as AS3902/ISO9002.
ABOUT THIS GUIDE.
The purpose of this guide is to provide information on the
technical benefits obtained with the inclusion of acoustic
insulation materials in the construction of all types of buildings
as well as noise control of machinery.
The range of Bradford products and their applications
is presented along with data and worked examples to
illustrate design considerations.
This Acoustic Design Guide also outlines the basic
properties of sound, and methods for its control. It does not
set out to provide a definitive solution to every conceivable
noise problem. Rather, it aims to explain the principles
involved, so that these principles can be applied along with
common sense, to overcome common acoustic problems.
Acoustics is however a complex science, and there will
be many instances where the services of specialist acoustic
consultants or noise control engineers are indispensable.
The reader is cautioned against investing large sums of
money in noise control without first seeking advice.
This is particularly pertinent where compliance with
noise abatement orders is concerned.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
To assist designers, a free and comprehensive technical
service, as well as advice and assistance in specifying and using
Bradford products is available from CSR Bradford Insulation
offices in your region. Further technical data and product
updates are also available on the CSR Building Solutions
Website: www.csr.com.au/bradford
Information included in this Design Guide relates to
products as manufactured at the date of publication. As
the CSR Bradford Insulation policy is one of continual
product improvement, technical details as published are
subject to change without notice.
Contents.
The Importance of
Acoustic Insulation.
The minimisation of noise has become a significant environmental issue in the modern world,
whether at home, at work or on holidays.
CSR Bradford Insulation manufacturers and distributes an extensive range of insulation products
that provide excellent noise control properties, as well as the traditional thermal and fire control
benefits.
Although all fibrous insulation products can provide some acoustic benefits, CSR Bradford
Insulation has a range of products specifically designed and tested for the acoustic insulation market,
including:
ACOUSTIC INSULATION
PRODUCT
Bradford Glasswool Partition Batts
Bradford SoundScreen
Bradford ACOUSTICON
Bradford Glasswool
R1.5 ACOUSTITUFF
Ductliner
Bradford Glasswool
R1.5 ULTRAPHON
Ductliner
Bradford ACOUSTICLAD
Bradford Glasswool ACOUSTILAG
Bradford FIBERTEX
Acoustic Baffle
Bradford Glasswool SUPERTEL
Bradford Rockwool FIBERTEX
450
APPLICATIONS
Economical insulation for internal wall sound absorption
in housing, residential apartments or commercial offices.
Various systems are available to meet building codes.
Unique rockwool insulation system to reduce room-to-
room noise transmission in houses.
Commercial and residential metal roofing insulation
specially developed to reduce rain noise.
Air conditioning duct internal lining product offering full
enclosure with excellent sound absorption properties.
High performance acoustic absorption product for
ducting, silencers and other acoustic applications.
Wall absorber combining the superior acoustic properties
of Bradford Fibertex
Rockwool with a perforated metal

panel system.
Pipe insulation product combining the noise barrier
properties of loaded vinyl and the absorption benefits of
glasswool. Ideal for noisy plumbing.
Rockwool batt enclosed in white polymer film used for
which is designed to be hung from the overhead structure
to provide acoustic absorption in a room or workplace.
General purpose medium density glasswool acoustic
insulation.
General purpose premium rockwool acoustic insulation
product.
1
1
Metal Roof Insulation or
Tiled Roof Sarking
2
2
Ceiling
Insulation
4
4
External Wall
Insulation/
Party Wall
5
5
Plumbing
Insulation
7
7
Home Cinema Wall, Floor &
Ceiling Insulation.
Acoustic Absorbing Panels
3
3
Internal Wall
Insulation
6
6
Acoustic Floor/Ceiling &
Floating Floor Insulation
Acoustic Insulation for Homes.
2
2
Ceiling
Tiled Roof
Sarking
6
6
Acoustic
Floor/Ceilings
Floating Floors
7
7
Home Cinema
5
5
Plumbing
1
1
Metal Roofing
Bradford Insulation Application &
Selection Guide for Homes.
Insulation Application Product Type Product Range/Facings
Bradford ACOUSTICON
Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty

or Specialty THERMOFOIL
Bradford Glasswool ANTICON
Blanket R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Medium, Heavy Duty
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

ANTICON

Bradford THERMOFOIL
Sarking Medium, Heavy Duty,

ANTIGLARE
Bradford THERMOTUFF
Sarking Medium, Extra Heavy Duty, Safety

Bradford Glasswool Gold Ceiling Batts R2.0, R2.5, R3.0, R3.5, R4.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Ceiling Batts R2.0, R2.5, R3.0
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
2.5 - 5.0mm
Loose Fill Bags
Bradford Glasswool Partition Batts 50, 75 and 100mm
Bradford Rockwool SoundScreen
75mm
Bradford Glasswool Gold Wall Batts R1.5, R2.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Wall Batts R1.5, R2.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Cavity Wall Granulated Loose Fill Bags
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
Pipe Insulation ACOUSTILAG
20, 23 and 26
Bradford HANDITUBE
Pipe Insulation Stocked by CSR Bradford Insulation

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Ceiling Batts R1.5 - R2.0

Bradford Glasswool Wall/Floor Batts R1.5 - R2.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Wall/Floor Batts R1.5 - R2.0

75mm
Bradford Glasswool QUIETEL
Specialty installation system

Specialty facings available

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
3
3
Acoustic Internal
Walls
4
4
External Walls
7
7
Home Cinema Wall, Floor &
Ceiling Insulation.
Acoustic Insulation for Homes.
1
1
Tiled Roof Sarking or
Metal Roof Insulation
2
2
Ceiling
Insulation
4
4
External Wall
Insulation
5
5
Plumbing
Insulation
3
3
Internal Wall
Insulation
6
6
Acoustic Floor/Ceiling &
Floating Floor Insulation
2
2
Ceiling
Tiled Roof
Sarking
6
6
Acoustic
Floor/Ceilings
Floating Floors
7
7
Home Cinema
5
5
Plumbing
1
1
Metal Roofing
Bradford Insulation Application &
Selection Guide for Homes.
Bradford ACOUSTICON

Blanket R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Medium, Heavy Duty
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

ANTICON

Bradford THERMOFOIL
Sarking Medium, Heavy Duty,

ANTIGLARE
Bradford THERMOTUFF
Sarking Medium, Extra Heavy Duty, Safety

Bradford Glasswool Gold Ceiling Batts R2.0, R2.5, R3.0, R3.5, R4.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Ceiling Batts R2.0, R2.5, R3.0
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
25mm 50mm
Bradford Glasswool Partition Batts 50, 75 and 100mm
75mm
Bradford Glasswool Gold Wall Batts R1.5, R2.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Wall Batts R1.5, R2.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Cavity Wall Granulated Loose Fill Bags
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20, 23 and 26
ARMAFLEX

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Ceiling Batts R1.5 - R2.0

Bradford Glasswool Wall/Floor Batts R1.5 - R2.0
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Wall/Floor Batts R1.5 - R2.0

75mm
Specialty installation system

Specialty facings available

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
3
3
Acoustic Internal
Walls
4
4
External Walls
Acoustic Insulation for Commercial Buildings
1
1
Ceiling Insulation
(Suspended Grid Ceilings
& Concrete Roof/Soffit)
2
2
Internal
Partition Wall
Insulation
3
3
Acoustic
Absorbing
Panels
4
4
Plumbing
Insulation
5
5
Plant Room Wall &
Ceiling Insulation
6
6
Fan Silencer & Fan
Casing Insulation
7
7
Air Conditioning
Duct Insulation
(Rigid & Flexible Ducts)
R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

and ACOUSTICON

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool R1.5, R2.0 Faced Light,

ANTICON
Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty or

Specialty THERMOFOIL
25 75mm
THERMOFOIL
Facing
Bradford FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool 50 - 100mm

THERMOFOIL

Facing
Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Panel Overlays Factory Applied Acoustic Facings
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Ceiling Panel Overlays Factory Applied Acoustic Facings
Bradford Glasswool Building Blanket R1.2, R1.5, R1.8, R2.0, R2.5
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Building Blanket 50, 75mm, R1.5, R2.0
Bradford Glasswool Partition Batts 50, 75, 100mm
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Partition Batts 45, 70mm

Bradford Glasswool ULTRATEL
Board 25-100mm, Factory Applied

Facings
Bradford FIBERTEX
450 Rockwool 25-100mm,

Factory Applied Facings
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20, 23 and 26
ARMAFLEX

Bradford Rockwool/Glasswool ACOUSTICLAD
Bradford Glasswool FLEXITEL
, Perforated 750P
SUPERTEL
, ULTRATEL
THERMOFOIL
Bradford FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool Perforated 750P

THERMOFOIL
Perforated 750P
THERMOFOIL
ACOUSTITUFF
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool DUCTLINER ULTRAPHON
BMF, ULTRAPHON
25 100mm
(Quietel 13mm - 50mm)

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool DUCTLINER
Bradford FIBERTEX
450 Rockwool
Perforated 750P THERMOFOIL
Bradford Glasswool DUCTLINER ULTRAPHON
,
ACOUSTITUFF
facings
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool DUCTLINER 25 100mm, R1.5 & R0.9

Bradford Glasswool MULTITEL
R1.5 & R0.9

25 100mm
Bradford Glasswool THERMOGOLD
DUCTWRAP
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool DUCTWRAP
Bradford Glasswool R1.0 SPECITEL
R1.0. R1.5
Bradford FABRIFLEX
Flexible Ducting Available ex-Singapore

Bradford ACOUSTIFLEX
Flexible Ducting Available ex-Singapore

Bradford Insulation Application & Selection
Guide for Commercial Buildings.
1
1
Concrete
Roof/Soffit
Exposed Grid
Ceiling
Concealed Grid
Ceilings
2
2
Acoustic Internal
Partitions
7
7
Rigid Ducting
Internal Lining
4
4
Plumbing Insulation
Rigid Ducting
External Wrap
Flexible Duct
5
5
Plant Room
Wall & Ceiling
Insulation
6
6
Fan Casings
Fan Silencers
3
3
Acoustic
Absorbing
Panels
Acoustic Insulation for Theatre, Sports
& Multi-Purpose Buildings
2
2
Sports Centre
Roof/Ceiling Insulation
Floor Insulation
Acoustic Absorbing
Panels
3
3
Canteen
Wall Insulation
Ceiling Insulation
Metal Deck Rain Noise Insulation
1
1
Auditorium/Theatre/Cinema
Roof/Ceiling Insulation
Wall Insulation
Acoustic Absorbing
Panels
4
4
Air Conditioning
System Insulation
Insulation Application Product Type
Walls
Bradford Rockwool Partition Batts
Acoustic Absorbers
, SUPERTEL
ULTRATEL
with BMF (Black Matt Facing Tissue),

ULTRAPHON
or other specialty facing.

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Bradford ACOUSTICLAD Wall/Ceiling Absorber
Roof/Ceiling
Bradford Glasswool ACOUSTICON
Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Batts

Bradford Rockwool Ceiling Batts
Acoustic Absorbers
Wall/Ceiling Absorber
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
, SUPERTEL
ULTRATEL

ULTRAPHON

Roof/Ceiling

Acoustic Absorbers
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
, SUPERTEL
ULTRATEL

ULTRAPHON

Bradford ACOUSTICLAD Wall/Ceiling Absorber
Walls
Bradford Rockwool Partition Batts
Roof/Ceiling

Refer to CSR Bradford Insulation Air Conditioning Design
Guide and Product Guide.
2
2
Sports
Buildings
Swimming
Basketball
Gymnasium
3
3
Canteen
Facility
1
1
Theatre, Cinema
& Auditorium
4
4
Air Conditioning
Systems
Bradford Insulation Application & Selection Guide
for Theatre, Sports & Multi-Purpose Buildings.
Acoustic Insulation for
Industrial Applications.
6
6
Ceiling
Insulation
1
1
Acoustic Baffles
(suspended)
8
8
Acoustic Wall
Absorbers
7
7
Metal Deck
Roof Insulation
4
4
Acoustic
Absorbing
Screens
5
5
Acoustic Internal
Wall Insulation
3
3
Bradford Insulation
for OEM Applications
2
2
Acoustic
Enclosures for
Plant & Machinery
3
3
OEM Applications
2
2
Acoustic Enclosures
for Plant & Machinery
4
4
Acoustic
Absorbing Screens
7
7
Metal Deck
Roofs
8
8
Acoustic Wall
Absorbers
6
6
Ceilings
1
1
Acoustic Baffles
5
5
Acoustic Internal
Walls
Bradford Acoustic Insulation for
Industrial Applications.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Acoustic Baffle Fully enclosed in white polymer

film ready to hang.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool 25 100mm
Density 24 120kg/m
3
Bradford Glasswool Appliance Grade Cut to size with specialty facings

Bradford Rockwool Appliance Grade available
25 100mm
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
Bradford Glasswool Partition Batts To fit studs
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Partition Batts

Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Batts 50 150mm
75mm
Bradford Rockwool ACOUSTICON
25 100mm
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Specialty facings available

Interior Walls.
RESIDENTIAL PARTY &
INTERNAL WALLS.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) Sections F5 sets
out Sound Transmission Class (STC) requirements for
sound insulation of floors, walls, between units, walls
between bathrooms, laundries, kitchens, between habitable
and non-habitable rooms in multi-tenancy buildings. In
late 1999, the BCA changed its acoustic rating from STC
to Sound Reduction Index (R
w
). This Acoustic Design
Guide uses the STC rating units as Australasia and Asia are
familiar with STC and it is very similar to R
w
. An increase
of either one STC unit or one R
w
unit approximately
equals a reduction of one decibel in noise level.
Table 1 below shows common STC values of walls
used in buildings. The expected audibility for a given
STC level is also shown, based on guidelines for ambient
sound levels
TABLE 1. STC AND AUDIBILITY
THROUGH WALLS AND FLOORS.
STC Value Audibility
30 - 35 Speech audible
40 Loud speech, still heard
45 Loud speech, just heard
50 55 Speech cannot be heard
The BCA Part F5.4 Sound Insulation Of Walls
Between Units currently states a wall must have an STC
not less than 45. It has been proposed to increase this to
STC 55 in the future as STC 45 does not provide enough
acoustic privacy. STCs 50 are standard in Europe and
USA.
Generally internal walls for residential applications in
Australia use either rendered brick or lightweight double
leaf walls using plasterboard and/or fibre cement
construction on timber studs.
To improve or increase the sound transmission loss
(STL) hence the STC of these walls, the following is
required:-
EXTRA MASS.
Sound Transmission Loss (STL) depends heavily on
the surface density of a building element (mass per square
metre of surface). For every doubling of surface density,
the sound transmission loss increases by about 5dB.
The addition of denser wall sheeting products such as
CSR Gyprock
Fyrchek
or Soundchek

plasterboard or
CSR Fibre Cement together with Gyprock Resilient
Mounts and furring channels can reduce noise levels.
DOUBLE-LEAF WALLS.
Higher transmission losses than those expected by the
Mass Law can be obtained by using double-leaf walls
with an air cavity.
Further increases in sound transmission loss,
particularly at low frequencies can be achieved by using
wider air cavities.
When a double leaf wall is uninsulated, the air in the
cavity can act as a spring, efficiently transmitting sound
energy from one side of the wall to the other.
Significant improvement in STC is obtained by
using Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool batts in the
cavity.
Acoustic tests of walls around the world have shown
the use of glasswool batts or rockwool batts inside cavity
walls reduces resonances between the two sheets and can
significantly improve the acoustic performance by up to
10 STC. Generally the thicker and/or denser the
insulation in the cavity, the higher the STC rating
resulting in less noise transmitted to the other side of the
wall. The actual improvement in STC depends on the
type of wall construction. Insulation in the cavity will also
lessen the effect of the coincidence dip in double leaf
walls.
FLANKING NOISE.
It should be noted that actual installations, as compared
to acoustic laboratories, exhibit flanking noise through
doors, windows, ventilation ducting, air gaps at ceiling,
wal l and fl oor intersections. In addition, poor
workmanship may degrade the acoustic performance of
partitions. For these reasons, a building element
constructed in the field will usually achieve a lower STC
ratings than when tested in the laboratory.
Maximum acoustic performance can be achieved by
eliminating penetrations in walls, caulking gaps, and
staggering electrical outlet or other necessary penetrations
through the wall. Wall cavities should be completely
filled with insulation and tightly fitted around pipes,
conduits and other outlets.
Bradford Acoustic Solutions.
LOW FREQUENCY NOISE.
Low frequency noise from sources such as fans, aircraft,
road and rail traffic, and bass from amplified music can
penetrate walls easier than high frequency noise.
Therefore higher sound transmission loss (ie. higher
STC) walls are required to ensure satisfactory acoustic
performance. As a general rule, add at least 5 STC points
to the acoustic requirement of the walls when low
frequency noise is present.
STC data for some typical partition walls is given in
Table 2. Further STC data for internal cavity walls is
available the CSR Bradford brochure Noise Reductions
For Internal Partitions or the CSR Gyprock Fire &
Acoustic Design Guide, The Red Book.
TABLE 2. STC DATA FOR TYPICAL TIMBER FRAME PARTITION SYSTEMS.
Description STC (R
w
) STC (R
w
) STC (R
w
)
Bradford Bradford
No Glasswool Rockwool
Insulation Wall Batts Wall Batts
STC 30 - 42
1 layer 10mm CSR Gyprock Plasterboard CD
70/75mm Timber Studs

1 layer 10mm CSR Gyprock Plasterboard CD
STC 40 - 50
2 layers 13mm CSR Gyprock Fyrchek
plasterboard
70/75mm Timber Studs
1 layer 13mm CSR Gyprock Fyrchek
plasterboard
STC 50 - 60
plasterboard
90 x 35mm Staggered Timber Studs
plasterboard
33 38 39
(75mm Batts) (45mm Batts)
Test CSR 37/67
42
SoundScreen
43 47 48
51 58 59
* Refer to the CSR Bradford Noise Reduction of Internal Partitions brochure or the CSR Gyprock
Fire & Acoustic

Design Guide (The Red Book) which show a wide range of internal partitions and their STC ratings.
Internal plasterboard or fibre cement walls using steel
stud systems are widely used in commercial construction
and offer a wide range of sound transmission loss
performance.
The methods stated previously for improving acoustic
performance of Residential Internal Walls also apply to
the Commercial Internal Partitions.
Thinner gauge steel studs, with greater stud spacing
and minimum fixing of sheets to studs also results in a wall
which is able to flex more easily generally resulting in
slightly higher acoustic performance.
If higher STC performance is required, there are a
number of steps that can be incorporated at the time of
construction to improve acoustic performance, as detailed
in Table 3.
TABLE 3. INSULATION FOR NOISE REVERBERATION CONTROL.
Addition STC Improvement Comments
Fit insulation into studs Up to 10 STC points Thicker and/or denser insulation
such as Rockwool is beneficial.
Light gauge or deeper steel studs give
higher STC performance.
Use Gyprock
Fyrchek Up to 3 STC points Use of 13mm or 16mm CSR

plasterboard if installed both sides Gyprock
Fyrchek
improves
performance due to extra mass.
Gyprock
Resilient Channel 6 8 STC points Resilient Channel isolate the

one side Gyprock
Plasterboard from the stud.

Bradford Quietel one side and 4 STC points Quietel board acts as a sound
insulation to stud isolator between the Gyprock
Plasterboard and the Stud.

Staggered and double studs Up to 10 STC points Provide sound breaks between solid
studs and Gyprock
. Recommended
where impact isolation is also required.
Gyprock
Resilient Mounts and Up to 10 STC points Used where high level reduction of
Furring Channel airborne and impact noise is required.
COMMERCIAL INTERNAL
PARTITIONS.
* Refer to the CSR Bradford Insulation Noise Reduction of Internal Partitions brochure or CSR Gyprock
Fire &
Acoustic Design Guide (The Red Book) which show a wide range of internal partitions and their STC ratings.
Description STC (R
w
) STC (R
w
) STC (R
w
)
Bradford Bradford
No Glasswool Rockwool
Insulation Partition Batts Partition Batts
STC 30 - 40
1 layer 13mm Gyprock Plasterboard CD
64mm Steel Studs

1 layer 13mm Gyprock Plasterboard CD
STC 40 - 50
1 layer 16mm Gyprock Fyrchek
64mm Steel Studs

STC 50 - 60
plasterboard
64 x 0.75mm BMT Separated Steel Studs
plasterboard
STC 55 - 60
plasterboard
64 x 0.75 BMT Separated Steel Studs
plasterboard
STC 60 - 70
2 layers 16mm Gyprock Fyrchek
plasterboard
92 x 0.75mm BMT Separated Steel Studs
2 layers 16mm Gyprock Fyrchek
plasterboard
TABLE 4. STC RATINGS OF SOME COMMERCIAL INTERNAL PARTITIONS*.
A sample of the STC ratings for commercial internal partitions using steel studs taken from the Tables in the CSR Bradford
Insulation Noise Reductions for Internal Partitions brochure, together with results from recent testing.
35 40 41
Test HAS 085
39 44 45
45 57 58
(75mm (75mm
Wall Batts) SoundScreen
)
45 55 60
(80mm Batts) (75mm
SoundScreen
)
55 63 64
CSR Bradford Insulation has available a sophisticated
Acoustic Predictor computer program, developed by CSR
Gyprock
, which can predict the STC rating of many

different internal partitions, in addition to those shown
above and in the brochure.
Note: For walls which require high sound transmission
loss STC greater than 50, such as those used between
recording studios or cinemas, flanking paths should be
considered, as they can derate the acoustic performance of
the partition. For cinema walls requiring a very high STC
rating, contact CSR Bradford Insulation regarding the CSR
Gyprock
Cinema Wall System, or other CSR systems.

ACOUSTIC PREDICTION SYSTEM.
External Walls.
External walls of residential buildings usually consist of
brick veneer construction, or lightweight concrete
construction,
a cladding material, usually timber or fibre cement or
occasionally double brick.
For better acoustic performance, use building materials
with more mass. Clay bricks provide high surface density
(or mass per square metre) to enable high transmission
loss.
The use of CSR Gyprock
Soundchek
or Fyrchek
plasterboard is recommended for interior walls. For even

higher wall STC, the use of CSR Gyprock
Resilient
Mounts and Furring Channels is recommended.
For brick veneer walls add the thickest possible
rockwool or glasswool batts inside wall cavities during
construction of the building.
Granulated rockwool can be retro-fitted into existing
walls of a building using a special machine which blows
granulated rockwool under pressure into the wall cavities.
Wall sheeting usually has solid connections (ie screw
or nail fixed) to the timber or steel studs and transmits
noise through these solid connections. CSR Gyprock
Resilient Mounts can reduce both noise and vibration

transmission.
To improve STC performance of single timber studs,
consider the use of Rondo resilient channels or CSR
Gyprock
resilient mounts with furring channels, which

can improve STC (or R
w
) by 6 to 8.
Buildings with double brick walls should use vibration
isolated wall ties to reduce the amount of noise and
vibration transmitted from one wall to the other.
Note that building elements of low acoustic
performance will derate the improvements made to other
building elements ie. walls and ceilings. For example,
lightweight windows and doors can reduce the overall
STC rating of the wall.
Products.
Bradford Glasswool Wall Batts
Bradford Rockwool Wall and Ceiling Batts
Roof/Ceiling Systems.
Roof/ceiling systems generally consist of either steel
roofing or tile roofing. These roofing systems usually
provide average to poor acoustic performance and can be
an acoustically weak link in a building facade. It should
be noted that consideration should be given to other weak
links in the building extensions such as windows and
doors.
Low frequency noise generated by aircraft, road and
rail traffic can easily penetrate commonly used building
materials including the roofing.
Tile roofs are generally used in domestic applications.
It is recommended that Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool
Ceiling Batts be used in the roof cavity to improve both
acoustic and thermal resistance. Note the higher the
thermal resistance or R-value, the thicker the batt, and
the better the acoustic absorption.
The following points indicate methods to improve the
acoustic performance of a typical tiled roof system. Tips
on how to further improve the STC rating are provided
in (brackets)
Rockwool or glasswool insulation batts on top of the
ceiling, (the thicker the insulation or the higher the
R-rating, the better the acoustic absorption)
Using a heavy THERMOFOIL
sarking as a
condensation barrier under the roof tiles, the heavier
the better the noise reduction.
Adding Bradford SOUNDLAGG
loaded vinyl over

the ceiling joists, (the heavier the better).
Thicker and/or heavier plasterboard for the ceiling,
(use fire rated plasterboard and multiple layers).
Care should be taken to minimise all gaps in the roof
ceiling to maximise the acoustic performance.
Gyprock

Plasterboard
Bradford
Thermofoil or
Thermotuff
Breather
Bradford
Insulation
Wall Batts
External
Cladding
Timber Frame
FIG 1.
EXTERNAL WALL INSULATION.
Figure 2 shows how to improve the acoustic
performance of a typical tiled roof system.
Note that the gaps inherent in tile roof construction
allow noise to enter the roof cavity. Hence the use of
rockwool or glasswool insulation will maximise noise
absorption in the roof space, minimising the amount of
noise entering the room/s below.
Steel roofing is used in both commercial and
residential roofing systems in Australia, New Zealand
and Asia.
Metal deck roofing systems require a layer of thermal
insulation faced with a suitable vapour barrier to be
installed directly underneath the metal decking to guard
against condensation.
Figure 3 shows the improvement in STC of a typical
domestic roof with the addition of Bradford insulation in
the roof/ceiling system.
Bradford Glasswool
or Rockwool Ceiling
Batts (as indicated)
Bradford Thermofoil 733
Sarking over rafters
Gyprock 10mm
Supa-Ceil
Plasterboard Ceiling
Ceiling
Joist
Monier Concrete
Roof Tiles
Bradford Soundlagg
(6kg/m
2
) over joists
FIG 2. IMPROVING ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF TILED ROOF SYSTEMS.
SYSTEM
Monier concrete tile roof with one
layer of Gyprock Supa-Ceil
plasterboard fixed to ceiling joists

spaced at 600mm centres.
Add Bradford R2.5 Glasswool Batts
between joists.
Replace Bradford R2.5 Glasswool
Batts with Bradford R3.0 FIBERTEX
Rockwool Building Batts between

joists, and install Bradford
THERMOFOIL
733 over rafters.

Add Bradford SOUNDLAGG
(6kg/m
2
) over ceiling joists.
STC/R
w
33
41
45
50
Bradford Fibertex
Rockwool Batts or
(Bradford Glasswool
Ceiling Insulation in
New Zealand)
Metal Roofing
Gyprock 10mm
Supa-Ceil
Plasterboard Ceiling
Ceiling
Joist
Bradford Acousticon
Foil Faced Blanket
FIG 3. IMPROVING ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF STEEL ROOF SYSTEMS.
SYSTEM
Metal roofing with 1 x 10mm Gyprock
Supa-Ceil
plasterboard fixed to ceiling

joists spaced at 600mm centres.
Add Bradford ACOUSTICON
foil
faced building blanket over rafters under
metal roofing.
Add Bradford R2.5 FIBERTEX
Rockwool Building Batts between joists.

Replace Supa-Ceil plasterboard with 2
layers x 13mm Gyprock Plasterboard CD
fixed to metal furring channels (at
600mm max. cts) attached by Gyprock
Resilient Mounts
Metal roofing with one layer plasterboard
fixed to ceiling joists spaced at 600mm
cts. plus Bradford Ceiling Insulation
between joist. (New Zealand only).
STC/R
w
34
41
45
52
39 41
TILED ROOF SYSTEMS.
STEEL ROOFING SYSTEMS.
The STC of a roof system (commercial, industrial or
domestic) can also be improved with the addition of
heavier building materials such as:
addition of insulation between the roof sheeting and
Bradford batts above the ceiling,
thicker steel roof sheeting,
using heavier, fire rated plasterboard or multiple layers
for the ceiling,
installing a layer of Bradford SOUNDLAGG
beneath
(4 kg/m
2
or heavier).
RAIN NOISE REDUCTION
WITH METAL DECK ROOFING
A common problem of steel roofing is that of rain
noise, particularly in tropical climates with high levels of
rainfall. Rain falling on metal deck roofing can cause
unacceptably high noise levels in the space below the roof.
The impact causes the stiff lightweight roof sheeting to
vibrate, thus emitting noise. Damping the vibration of the
roof sheeting reduces the emitted noise.
Rockwool and glasswool blanket products have
exceptional noise absorbing properties providing effective
damping of the steel roof sheeting.
CSR Bradford Insulation in conjunction with CSR
Gyprock
have constructed a rain noise testing facility to

simulate rain noise using conventional 0.42mm thick
BHP Trimdek Hi-Ten metal roof cladding. The rain
noise test rig has four nozzles spraying water at high
pressure simulate high intensity rainfall. Continuous noise
levels of 89dB(A) were created inside the test rig, this
noise level was used for controlled testing purposes.
Figure 4 shows the rain noise insertion losses achieved
by using Bradford Insulation Blankets faced with
Thermofoil 729. All tests used 0.42mm BMT BHP
Trimdek Hi-Ten steel roofing.
Bradford ACOUSTICON
Glasswool Roofing
Bl anket is f aced with THERMOFOIL
.
ACOUSTICON
has been specially developed to

provide cost effective rain noise reduction of 18dB(A)
insertion l oss under metal deck roofing.
ACOUSTICON
has BHP approval for use under all

types of Lysaght steel roofing profiles, including Klip-Lok.
For more infor mation refer to the Bradford
ACOUSTICON
A Quiet Step Forward brochure,

available from your nearest Bradford office.
For optimum rain noise reduction under steel roofing
in commercial, industrial and residential applications,
install 75mm Bradford ACOUSTICON
.
For residential applications, ensure the correct rating of
thermal insulation is achieved for roof insulation in your
region. At least R2.0 Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool
Ceiling Batts should be installed between ceiling joists in
conjunction with a Bradford ACOUSTICON
.
CSR Bradford Insulation and CSR Gyprock
have
conducted many tests using various foil faced roofing
insulation blankets, ceiling tiles and fixed plasterboard
ceilings. The results of these are shown in Table 5.
In tropical climates, roofing insulation is generally
installed foil face up, ie. the foil in direct contact with the
metal deck roof sheeting. This reduces the insertion loss
of the roofing blanket by 2dB. The use of Bradford
Rockwool
ACOUSTICON
is therefore recommended.
Rain noise tests were conducted using the same
thickness/density glasswool blanket and varying the
surface density of foil. It was found that the mass of the
foil has no effect on the rain noise insertion loss achieved
by the insulation.
ACOUSTICON
and ANTICON
roofing blankets
should be installed so the blanket is firmly in contact with
the steel roofing as shown in Figure 5. This has the
added benefit of damping the metal roof sheeting and
reducing rain noise.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Insertion Loss db(A)
50mm Glasswool blanket
50mm Bradford Rockwool
75mm Bradford ACOUSTICON Optimum
50mm Polyester Blanket
FIG 4
RAIN NOISE REDUCTION INSERTION LOSSES
FOIL FACED ROOFING BLANKETS.
Bradford
Acousticon
Support Mesh
(when specified)
Bradford Thermofoil
Vapour Barrier
Metal Deck Roofing
Purlin
FIG 5.
REDUCTION OF RAIN NOISE METAL DECK ROOF.
TABLE 5. NOISE REDUCTION CEILING SYSTEMS.
Ceiling System Description Rain Noise
Reduction Level
dB(A)
Bradford ANTICON
R1.5 Blanket hard under metal deck roof

Bradford ACOUSTICON
hard under metal deck roof

Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool ACOUSTICON
hard under metal deck roof

Rondo Suspended Concealed Grid Ceiling System.
1 layer x 13mm Gyprock Plasterboard CD.
Bradford ANTICON
R1.5 Blanket hard under metal deck roof

Rondo Suspended Exposed Grid Ceiling System.
CSR Gyprock Ecophon
20mm Lay-in Ceiling Tiles.

Bradford ANTICON
R1.5 Blanket hard under the roof.

RONDO Suspended Exposed Grid Ceiling System.
CSR Gyprock CELOTEX
16mm Lay-in Ceiling Tiles.

Bradford ANTICON

RONDO Suspended Exposed Grid Ceiling System.
Gyprock 13mm Lay-in Ceiling Tiles.
Bradford ANTICON

RONDO Suspended Concealed Grid Ceiling System.
Bradford ANTICON

RONDO Suspended Concealed Grid Ceiling System.
Bradford R1.5 GOLD BATTS or R1.5 Glasswool Building Blanket laid over the ceiling.
Bradford ANTICON

RONDO Resiliently Mounted Suspended Concealed Grid Ceiling System.
2 layers x 13mm Gyprock Fyrchek
Plasterboard.
Bradford R1.5 GOLD BATTS or R1.5 Glasswool Building Blanket laid over the ceiling.
15
18
19
22
25
30
34
37
45
51
Products for Metal Deck Roofing Systems.
Bradford Glasswool Acousticon
75mm. (R1.8)
Bradford 50mm Commercial Grade Anticon
.
Bradford Glasswool R1.5 Anticon
55mm.
75mm.
95mm.
Bradford 50mm Rockwool ACOUSTICON
.
CEILINGS.
Fixed plasterboard ceilings generally provide better
sound transmission loss (ie. higher STC) than lightweight
suspended ceiling tiles and even plasterboard ceiling tiles.
This is because the fixed plasterboard ceiling is better
sealed and has less gaps. Multiple layers of plasterboard
with resilient mounting and rockwool or glasswool batts
in the cavity can provide high STC rating. The larger the
Refer to the CSR Gyprock
Fire & Acoustic Design Guide (The Red Book) for additional information on rain noise
reduction ceiling systems. See comments regarding: Tropical climate applications in Bradford ACOUSTICON
brochure.
ceiling cavity, the better the low frequency noise
reduction.
The ceiling can be an important area of a room to
place sound absorption particularly, when the remainder
of the rooms contains hard reflective surfaces. Rooms
having no sound absorbent surfaces typically have high
reverberation times. This results in poor acoustics,
particularly if communication is required within the
room.
Generally commonly used plasterboard ceilings,
whether fixed or lay in ceiling tiles are not very effective
at absorbing sound.
Typically, sound absorptive ceilings generally consist
of:
ceiling tiles made of high density rockwool or
glasswool (typically NRC 0.70 0.95),
perforated plasterboard or perforated metal pan ceilings
with Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool insulation
(faced with a black tissue) above (good sound
absorption NRC 0.60 0.90),
Mineral fibre ceiling tiles (average sound absorption
NRC 0.50 0.60).
Note that better low frequency acoustic absorption
results when ceiling tiles are installed with an air cavity.
The larger the air cavity, the better the low frequency
acoustic absorption.
In many commercial office buildings, noises such as
conversations, telephones ringing etc can be heard from
one office to another (also known as Crosstalk). This can
cause disruption, annoyance, and decreased productivity.
Crosstalk usually occurs from sound flanking via the
ceiling.
In commercial office buildings, the walls are built up
to the underside of the lightweight suspended ceilings
(usually a metal grid), not to the concrete slab above. The
lightweight ceilings tiles used generally have a low STC
rating. The void above wall and ceiling allows sound to
flank from one room to the next via the acoustically
weak ceiling tiles. Ideally, the wall should be built up to
the underside of the floor above without gaps for sound
to pass from one side to the other.
To reduce the amount of sound flanking when a wall
does not continue to the underside of the floor above, it
is recommended that Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool
Ceiling Batts be installed between the wall/ceiling and the
underside of the floor above. The more compressed the
insulation is when installed in this way, the better the
acoustic performance. refer to Figure 6.
Alternatively, to reduce flanking via the ceiling, install
Bradford Acoustilag
from the underside of the concrete

slab to the ceiling below as shown in Figures 7 and 8.
Products - Ceilings.
Bradford Rockwool Ceiling Batts R1.5, R2.0, R2.5,
R3.0.
Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Batts R2.0, R2.5, R3.0,
R3.5, R4.0.
Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Panel Overlays (optional
Black Matt Facing, or ULTRAPHON
)
Bradford Glasswool Absorption Blanket (optional
Black Matt Facing or ULTRAPHON
Bradford Fibertex
Rockwool (optional Black Matt

Facing or ULTRAPHON
)
Ducting
Ducting
Poor sound privacy caused by sound flanking
through lightweight suspended ceiling
FIG 6. IMPROVING SOUND TRANSMISSION
CONTROL THROUGH CEILING AREA WITH
BRADFORD INSULATION.
Ducting
Ducting
Improved privacy with Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool Ceiling Batts in ceiling space over wall
Bradford
Rockwool or
Glasswool
Partition Batts
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool
Ceiling Batts compressed
between ceiling and slab above
Cabling
Ducting
NOTE: Care must be taken when passing cables through
insulation material due to possible overheating. Consult
your electrician for more details.
Floor/Ceiling Noise
Control Systems.
Multi-storey buildings with hard flooring such as
timber, parquetry or tiles etc., can efficiently transmit both
airborne and impact noise (structure borne vibration) to
the rooms below if appropriate techniques are not
incorporated at the time of construction. Installing carpet
and underlay on the floor can significantly reduce the
impact noise to the room below.
Installing R2.0 or greater, Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool batts between the floor joists will reduce
airborne noise by approximately STC 4 6.
At the time of printing this guide, The Building
Code Of Australia (BCA) Sound Insulation of Floors
Between Units stated a floor separating sole occupancy
units must have an R
w
of not less than 45. (Note: R
w
45 approximately equals STC 45). Floors must also
provide insulation against impact generated sound.
It should be noted that STC 45 is not always adequate
in reducing airborne sound through floors and walls. For
better acoustic privacy, it is preferable to use a higher
rating of say R
w
50 or preferably R
w
55.
RETRO-FIT OF VIBRATION
ISOLATED FLOOR.
To reduce impact noise transmission through
floor/ceiling systems on existing timber, concrete or
tiled floors, a floating floor can be constructed on top of
the existing floor.
The floating floor should use a resilient damping
material. Dense Bradford Rockwool, Glasswool or rubber
materials can be used but care is needed to choose a
material with the correct stiffness for the application and
static load. The services of an acoustic consultant should
be engaged to solve floor impact noise problems and for
the design of floating floors.
Floating floors should not be mechanical fixed (nailed
or screwed) to the existing floor as this will couple the two
floors resulting in very little damping. The resilient
material should also be used between the edges of the
floating floor and the walls of the building. Skirting
boards should also be isolated or separated from the
floating floor.
Note the floor/ceiling and floor/door heights may be
affected by the use of a floating floor. Doors may also need
undercutting if a floating floor is retro-fitted. Therefore
where clearances are important, the floating floor height
should be kept to a minimum.
250mm minimum
100mm
minimum
C-track or timber
batten fixed to soffit
Bradford Acoustilag
curtain continuous in
ceiling area
Suspended ceiling
tiles/plasterboard
FIG 7. IMPROVING SOUND TRANSMISSION
CONTROL THROUGH CEILING AREA WITH
BRADFORD ACOUSTILAG CURTAIN.
75mm
Bradford
Reinforced
Aluminium
Tape
50mm min.
overlap
Bradford
Acoustilag
curtain
FIG 8. JOINTING A
Cut Bradford Acoustilag
curtain to allow installation
around pipes, ducting etc.
A tight fit should be
maintained to ensure
acoustic integrity
PENETRATIONS THROUGH
REDUCING NOISE TRANSMISSION
THROUGH TIMBER
FLOOR/CEILING SYSTEMS.
1. Fit Bradford R2.0 (or greater) Floor Batts, or
Rockwool/Glasswool Ceiling Batts tightly between
ceiling joists.
2. Fix one layer of 13mm or 16mm Gyprock Fyrchek
plasterboard to furring channels.

3. For better acoustic performance (to reduce airborne
noise), choose a ceiling with more mass ie. multiple
layers of Gyprock
plasterboard CD or Gyprock
Fyrchek
plasterboard.
4. CSR Gyprock
Resilient Mounted Furring Channels

will further improve acoustic performance as well as
impact isolation.
5. To improve impact isolation of floors, use carpet and
good quality thick underlay over timber flooring.
A large range of floor/ceiling systems incorporating
alternative acoustic upgrades is detailed in Appendix B of
this publication.
Refer to the CSR Gyprock
Fire & Acoustic Design

Guide The Red Book for additional information on
floor/ceiling systems.
REDUCING NOISE TRANSMISSION
THROUGH CONCRETE
FLOOR/CEILING SYSTEMS.
For concrete floor ceiling constructions, use vibration
isolated ceiling hangers or resiliently mounted furring
channels to support the plasterboard ceiling.
Products.
Bradford Floor Batts.
Bradford Glasswool R2.0, R2.5, R3.0, R3.5, R4.0
Ceiling Batts.
Bradford Rockwool R1.5, R2.0, R2.5, R3.0
Wall/Ceiling Batts.
Bradford Glasswool Quietel
(for impact isolation).

Floors.
Improved air-borne sound reduction and impact
isolation can be achieved by using floating floors as shown
in Figures 11, 12 and 13.
High density, resilient Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool Quietel
can break the sound and vibration

transmission paths while having sufficient compressive
strength to support the floating floor and the room
contents. Vibrational energy is absorbed in the resilient
material rather than transmitted to the building structure.
Not only does a floating floor achieve effective structure-
borne sound control, but it also reduces the air-borne
sound transmission to and from the room below.
The Bradford Fibertex
Rockwool or Glasswool
Quietel
board are laid flat on the floor, ensuring all joints

are tightly butted. At the edges of the rooms, the batts
continue up the walls. For the concrete floor, waterproof
film is then used to cover the batts and a concrete screed
floor of suitable thickness is poured.
Carpet and underlay
Timber flooring
Gyprock resilient mount
Use higher density Gyprock plasterboard
(Soundchek or Fyrchek) and/or multiple layers
Furring channel
Bradford
Glasswool or
Rockwool
Insulation
Timber joists
FIG 9. TYPICAL METHODS FOR IMPROVING
ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF A TIMBER
FLOOR/CEILING SYSTEM.
Carpet and underlay
Concrete slab floor
Suspended ceiling system
Gyprock resilient mount
Higher density Gyprock
plasterboard (Soundchek or
Fyrchek) and/or multiple layers
Furring channel
Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool Insulation
FIG 10. TYPICAL METHODS FOR IMPROVING
ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF A CONCRETE
FLOOR/CEILING SYSTEM.
SYSTEM
19/20mm Timber Flooring,
200 x 50 Timber Joists at 450mm
centres, 1 layer x 13mm Gyprock
plasterboard CD.
Add Bradford R2.0 GOLD BATTS
between joists.
Add Gyprock Resilient Mounts and
Furring Channels at 600mm centres
between joists and plasterboard.
Add Carpet and Underlay. Add second
layer of 13mm Gyprock plasterboard CD
STC/R
w
35
39
52
55
VIBRATION RESISTANCE.
As Bradford Fibermesh
Rockwool is stitched to
wire mesh, the blankets are especially resistant to fallout
under conditions where vibration is present.
Bradford Fibermesh
is particularly suitable for

appl ications invol ving both vibration and high
temperature where standard bonded insulation materials
are less resistant to the effects of vibration.
Products.
.
Bradford FIBERTEX
HD Rockwool.
Bradford FIBERTEX
HD (High Density) Rockwool.

Bradford FIBERMESH
Rockwool.
Plumbing.
Noisy pipe work is a common problem in many
buildings. These days, pipe work building trends
commonly use inexpensive, lightweight, easily to install
mater ial s with thin wal l thicknesses which are
unacceptably noisy. Offices, hotels, apartments and
domestic houses can all benefit from reduced soil and
waste pipe noise levels. Designers, hydraulic consultants,
engineers, plumbers, owners and occupants of buildings
should all take steps to insulate pipes and ducts to reduce
noise.
Water flowing through commonly used PVC soil and
waste pipes is predominantly high frequency noise. To
effectively reduce pipe noise, lag the pipes with Bradford
Acoustilag
20, 23 or 26 pipe insulation. The 20, 23, and

26 indicate the A-weighted [dB(A)] insertion loss
achieved by lagging PVC pipes with each of the Bradford
Acoustilag
product respectively. (Refer to Appendix B

for additional information).
Note, the 20, 23 and 26dB(A) insertion losses only
apply to water flowing through PVC pipes which have
been correctly lagged with Acoustilag. Using Acoustilag
for lagging other noise sources, eg., a fan casing or sheet
metal air ducts, will generally result in lower insertion
losses to those quoted, as these noise sources have more
low frequency noise energy.
To achieve the insertion losses quoted, Bradford
Acoustilag
should be installed with all joins of the

lagging overlapped or butted, tightly and taped with
Bradford 493 reinforced foil tape. Minimising all the
gaps increases the acoustic performance of the lagging.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) states that: Soil
and waste pipes are to be separated if a soil or waste
pipe, including a pipe that is embedded in or passes
through a floor, serves or passes through more than one
sole-occupancy unit:
Timber
battens
Particleboard
or timber board flooring
Structural floor
Air gap at wall
Bradford
Fibertex Rockwool
or Glasswool Quietel
Plywood
Sheeting
FIG 11 TYPICAL FLOATING FLOOR TIMBER OVER
CONCRETE.
Floor
finish
50mm
Concrete
Wire mesh
Structural floor
Waterproof film
Bradford
Fibertex Rockwool
or Glasswool Quietel
FIG 12 TYPICAL FLOATING FLOOR CONCRETE
OVER CONCRETE.
Gyprock
plasterboard
ceiling
Bradford
Quietel Board
Timber
flooring
Plywood
sheeting
Plywood
sheeting
Bradford Glasswool/Rockwool
Ceiling Batts
FIG 13 TYPICAL FLOATING FLOOR TIMBER OVER
TIMBER JOIST CONSTRUCTION.
All equipment is then mounted on the screed floor
which is acoustically isolated from the main building
structure.
NOTE: The upper plywood layer should not be nailed
or screw fixed to the timber below. Instead, it should float
on the base floor to effectively damp vibration. The floor
should also be isolated from the walls. CSR Bradford
Insulation recommends consulting an acoustic engineer
for the design of floating floor systems.
(a) The pipe must be separated from the rooms of any
sole-occupancy unit by construction with an STC not
less than:
(i) STC 45 if the adjacent room is a habitable room
(other than a kitchen); or
(ii) STC 30 if the adjacent room is a kitchen or any
other room.
The Bradford ACOUSTILAG
Pipe Insulation
brochure provides systems using CSR Gyprock
plasterboard to achieve the STC noise criteria specified by

the BCA. The STC 50 system specified in that brochure
is intended for applications requiring better acoustic
isolation from waste pipe noise than is specified in the BCA
eg., board rooms, offices, apartments and hotels etc.
To achieve the STCs specified in Table 6, it is
imperative that the pipes be correctly lagged (no gaps to
allow noise leakage), and the plasterboard ceiling and walls
above be airtight with no gaps into the next room.
It is recommended the services of an acoustic
consultant or acoustic engineer be used to achieve
specified STC ratings. Penetrations, ducting, light fittings,
gaps in ceilings etc., can degrade the acoustic rating of the
lagging and ceiling system.
To minimise annoyance from plumbing noise, it is
advisable, at the design stage, to avoid placing bathrooms
and laundries etc., adjacent to noise sensitive areas.
Methods for minimising plumbing noise include:
Select vibration isolated pipe hangers to support pipes
and minimise transmission of vibration into the
building structure. These will reduce water hammer
noise when turning the water taps on or off .
Alternatively use ARMAFLEX
insulation between
pipes and the building structure.
Use water supply and drain pipes that are oversized, this
may reduce line pressure and minimise flow noise.
Where possible, use cast iron waste water pipes in place
of lightweight plastic pipe to substantially reduce
plumbing noise. The heavier, stiffer walls of cast iron
pipes effectively reduce noise.
If plastic waste water pipes must be used, use Bradford
ACOUSTILAG
to effectively reduce noise.

Insulate all pipes and plumbing that are chased into
brick walls.
Select quieter plumbing equipment and appliances eg.
cisterns, washing machines, clothes dryers etc.
Products.
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20, 23 or 26.
Bradford 493 reinforced foil tape.
ARMAFLEX
insulation.
Quietening Box Gutters
& Downpipes.
Box gutters should be insulated with Bradford
FLEXITEL
or SUPERTEL
Glasswool (25mm thick)

faced with heavy duty foil. Insulation can be attached to
gutters using 45mm long Bradford self-adhesive fasteners
and washers at 300 mm centres. Insulation should be held
firmly against the metal surface for maximum dampening.
For better noise reduction, use Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20.
Noisy downpipes should be insulated with Bradford
Glasswool Sectional Pipe Insulation faced with Heavy
Duty Thermofoil. Alternatively a 25mm wall thickness
ARMAFLEX
pipe insul ation or Bradford

ACOUSTILAG
20 can be fitted around downpipes.

Products.
or SUPERTEL
.
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20.
TABLE 6. ACOUSTIC INSULATION SYSTEMS FOR PLUMBING.
System STC/R
w
Bradford CSR Gyprock
Bradford
N Rating. ACOUSTILAG
Plasterboard Insulation
BAS 01 30 ACOUSTILAG
20 1 layer 10mm Nil

Gyprock CD
20 2 layers 13mm CSR 75mm Bradford

Gyprock CD
Glasswool R1.5

Gyprock CD
Glasswool R1.5

Gyprock CD
Glasswool, R2.0

Gyprock CD
Glasswool R1.5
Refer to the Bradford ACOUSTILAG
brochure for additional information.

Insulation Cladding of
Pipes, Tanks & Vessels.
The insertion loss achieved by cladding pipes, tanks
and vessels will depend on a number of factors such as the
frequency of the fluid in the pipe the type and mass of
the cladding material, the thickness and density of the
(rockwool or glasswool) insulation.
It should be noted that some of these cladding systems
can actually amplify the noise at lower frequencies,
particularly if insulation with a high density is used. This
generally happens as the tank now has a larger radiating
surface. Therefore it is difficult to predict the insertion loss
of cladding systems.
It should be noted that Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool SPI (sectional pipe insulation) will reduce pipe
noise but not as effectively as Bradford ACOUSTILAG
or insulation with a mass barrier. Higher density, means

it is less resilient than Bradford ACOUSTILAG
and
more efficiently transfers noise and vibration from the pipe
to the cladding/barrier. Note: Bradford ACOUSTILAG
is not recommended for high temperature applications.

Refer to the CSR Bradford Industrial Insulation
Design Guide for installation details of cladding and pipe
lagging.
Factories & Engineering
Workshops.
The basic methods by which industrial noise may be
controlled are:
Sound absorption absorbing the noise using mineral
fibre materials which can dissipate the sound energy
as heat.
Sound insulation (enclosing) containing the noise in
one area so that it does not cause annoyance in other
areas.
Vibration damping damping vibrating surfaces to
reduce air borne sound emission.
Vibration isolation preventing acoustic energy from
entering the building structure.
These processes are illustrated in Figure 14. As the
figure shows, treatment of a factory noise problem often
involves a combination of the basic processes.
REVERBERATION CONTROL.
Factories and engineering workshops usually are
reverberant spaces due to the lack of sound absorption
within the space. Areas with multiple noise sources, such
as factories, engineering workshops, bottling plants,
machine halls, plant rooms etc usually have a high level
of reverberant noise often exceeding the safe regulatory
noise level of 85dB(A).
The use of sound absorbing materials (such as
glasswool and rockwool) to reduce reflected or reverberant
sound is the most effective means of reducing overall
sound levels in enclosed areas.
CSR Bradford Insulation manufacture a range of
rockwool and glasswool products with outstanding sound
absorption properties. These products have been tested
in acoustic reverberation rooms to determine the sound
absorption coefficients presented in the technical data
section.
A range of factory-applied facings is available, the
most common being:
black fibreglass tissues (BMF), or ULTRAPHON
THERMOFOIL
laminates (solid and perforated).

An extremely effective acoustic absorber for walls
and ceilings is Bradford ACOUSTICLAD
a roll
formed panel, factory lined with Bradford FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool. Each panel interlocks with its neighbour

forming a structurally reinforced joint.
offers excellent test

results with NRC ranges from 0.9 to 1.05. Contact CSR
Bradford Insulation for a brochure or refer to Appendix
C for the Bradford ACOUSTICLAD
absorption
coefficients in
1
/
3
octave bands.
Vibration Damping of fan
casing reduces sound
emission
Insulation
reduces sound
flow to outside
Absorbent Lining
reduces sound level
within enclosure
Vibration Isolation
Mounting reduces
vibration transmission
to floor
FIG 14. BASIC NOISE CONTROL METHODS.
perforated metal is
available with percentages of open area ranging from
10% to 55% and in a number of finishes including:
galvanised steel,
powder coated steel,
stainless steel and
aluminium.
Fixing details for Bradford ACOUSTICLAD
are
available from your nearest Bradford office.
Bradford Rockwool and Glasswool insulation is
available with a range of facings, including:
perforated metal or expanded metal.
perforated foils,
pegboard,
wire,
plastic mesh.
Any perforated sheet facing should have an open area
greater than 10% to maximise acoustic absorption.
Other common methods for acoustic wall treatment
involve:
fixing timber battens or steel furring channels or Z
sections at a spacing to suit the facing sheets. Bradford
Rockwool and Glasswool batts are cut to size if
necessary and friction fitted between the supports. The
protective facing (e.g. perforated or expanded metal,
plastic mesh, pegboard, wire etc.) is fixed to the
furring sections or battens by nails, screws, or rivets
as appropriate. Cover strips are used to improve the
appearance.
A commonly used cost effective method for fixing
insulation (generally faced with perforated foil) on walls
and ceilings uses drive pins and speed clips. These
eliminate the need for battens or furring channels. The
drive pins are fixed to the wall usually at 450mm centres.
The insulation is pushed through the pins and held onto
the pin by the speed clips of a suitable size.
Rigid facings such as perforated metal or pegboard are
unsuitable for this application method. The advice of
adhesive suppliers should be sought before using
adhesively fixed pins in lieu of drive pins.
Ceilings may be lined by the same methods as walls.
An alternative approach is to use a fully exposed metal
suspension grid which makes it a simple matter to achieve
any air gap required behind the batts
Factories contain noise which predominantly has most
energy at low frequencies which is difficult to absorb
unless very thick insulation is used. To increase the low
frequency sound absorption of perforated noise absorbers
(such as Bradford ACOUSTICLAD
), introduce an air gap

behind the insulation. This can be achieved by using larger
battens or furring channels with chicken wire to retain the
batts in position, as shown in Figure 15 below. Better
acoustic absorption results when the depth of the air cavity
is at least as thick as the insulation.
Alternatively, rockwool or glasswool insulation greater
than 75mm can be used with acoustically transparent
facings mentioned above.
Acousticlad
Test Sample Configuration Noise Reduction

Perforated Coefficient
% Open Area NRC Rating
15% 50mm thick Bradford FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool
(60kg/m
3
) Insulation with black matt facing (BMF) 1.00
between the Rockwool and Acousticlad face.
25% as above 0.95
40% as above 1.00
15% 23mm thick Mylar film between unfaced Bradford
FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool and ACOUSTICLAD
0.90
perforated aluminium.
15% 50mm thick Bradford FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool
Insulation with black matt tissue between the
1.05
Rockwool and perforated aluminium. Timber spacers
supporting panels with average air gap 30mm.
TABLE 7. ACOUSTICLAD
TEST RESULTS.
Notes All acoustic tests were conducted with ACOUSTICLAD
perforated aluminium panels (0.7mm thick), with Bradford 50mm thick

FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool (60kg/m

3
) insulation.
Acoustic tests were conducted in the reverberation room at the National Acoustic Laboratories, Chatswood, Sydney, Australia.
See Appendix C for absorption coefficients at each
1
/3 Octave band frequency.
Products.
ACOUSTICLAD
with perforated metal facing is

available in various thicknesses and open area
percentage to accommodate acoustic absorption
requirements.
The following Bradford products can also be used:
350, 450.
, SUPERTEL
,
ULTRATEL
with perforated metal, expanded metal,

wire, meshes or perforated heavy duty grade foil facings.
Bradford Acoustic Baffles.
Large factories or buildings may need a greater area of
acoustic absorbing insulation than just the wall area, or may
need it concentrated in a particularly noisy section of the
building.
Bradford Rockwool Acoustic Baffles may be suspended
in any desired pattern to achieve extra sound absorption
in a building. Refer to Figure 16 and 17.
Sound absorption coefficients of Bradford Rockwool
Acoustic Baffles are shown in Table 8.
BAFFLE INSTALLATION.
Two popular methods of installation are detailed.
Baffles may be installed at any height, and do not need
to be all in the same plane. A regular pattern such as
parallel rows or a staggered, cross-hatched pattern is most
easily installed using a suspended ceiling grid.
Determine the number of acoustic baffles to be
installed to meet the noise reduction required. The typical
number of baffles is 1 baffle per square metre of ceiling
area. Allowance should be made for lights and sprinklers.
Installation Method 1.
The baffles can be individually suspended from the
roof structure using S hooks, galvanised wire or fine
chain. In this case, suspend baffles approximately 1
metre below the ceiling level if possible.
Chicken wire Structual wall Air gap
Bradford
Fibertex
Batts
Facing
eg. perforated
metal
Battens
FIG 15.
ABSORPTIVE LINING WITH AIR GAP TO BOOST
LOW FREQUENCY ABSORPTION (PLAN VIEW).
FIG 16.
BRADFORD ACOUSTIC BAFFLES USED TO
ABSORB SOUND FROM NOISY EQUIPMENT.
'S' Hook
Roof framing
Bradford Acoustic Baffles
in cross-hatch pattern
Suspension
wire or chain
FIG 17.
ACOUSTIC BAFFLES SUSPENDED AND ARRANGED
IN A CROSS-HATCH PATTERN.
TABLE 8. SOUND ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS OF BRADFORD ACOUSTIC BAFFLES.
Product Density Thickness Facing Frequency (Hz)
(kg/m
3
) (mm) 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 5000 NRC
Bradford Acoustic Baffle 60 50 30m 0.18 0.44 0.83 1.25 1.14 0.96 0.94 0.90
plastic film
Installation Method 2.
Inverted 50mm x 12mm aluminium U-channels are
fixed to the underside of a ceiling grid. The baffles are
then secured to the U-channel using self tapping screws.
Products.
Bradford Rockwool Acoustic Baffles.
Acoustic Enclosures.
Enclosures are an effective method of reducing noise
emitted from a particular machine or noise source. They
should be constructed of solid materials such as bricks,
sheet steel, timber, plasterboard etc. Enclosures reduce
noise more effectively when they are airtight, with no
gaps or openings. This is not always possible as the
machinery inside may need to be accessed by other
machines or people, or require air flow for cooling.
Encl osures buil t around machiner y actual l y
concentrate the noise inside the enclosure. Therefore it
is good practice to line the inside of enclosures with
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool to reduce reverberant
noise levels inside.
A simple acoustic enclosure is shown in Figure 19. It
has three main components:
(i) an internal lining of sound absorbent rockwool or
glasswool insulation to reduce the noise level inside
the enclosure.
(ii) a heavy barrier to reduce sound transmission to the
outside.
(iii) a resilient pad of felt or rubber to isolate the enclosure
from the floor (optional).
Broadly speaking, the sound transmission loss of an
enclosure improves by about 5dB for every doubling of
the surface density (mass per square metre or kg/m
2
).
Thus, a 2mm thick sheet steel enclosure will reduce the
noise level by about 5dB more than a 1mm sheet steel
enclosure, assuming all other conditions are equal.
Enclosures do not attenuate all frequencies of sound
equally, so the transmission loss achieved will depend on
the frequency spectrum of the noise source. High
frequency noise is more easily attenuated than low
frequency noise.
Thus, while a lightweight enclosure may provide
effective transmission loss for a high frequency noise
source, it could however be inadequate for low frequency
noise sources.
Flanking transmission paths permit sound to by-pass
the acoustic enclosure. Typical examples are air gaps,
windows, doors, service penetrations etc. To avoid severe
reductions in insulation performance, steps should be
taken to eliminate these flanking paths as far as practical.
Caulking of air gaps and penetrations, use of door seals
or even double doors, resiliently mounted double glazing,
use of flexible couplings on pipes and ducting which
penetrate the enclosure are all means of reducing flanking
transmission.
Flanking through the floor of an enclosure can limit
the transmission loss. Sound and vibration entering the
floor on the noisy side of the enclosure can be re-radiated
to some extent on the other side.
The sound insulation performance of lightweight
enclosures may be significantly improved by the use of
double-leaf construction with a core of sound absorbing
rockwool or glasswool as shown in Figure 20. The
performance will be further enhanced if the two leaves
are of different surface densities eg: one leaf may be
1.6mm steel sheet while the other is 1.2mm steel sheet.
This reduces resonant coupling between the sheets.
The sound reduction achieved depends on the surface
density of the enclosure. Heavy materials like steel sheet
greater than 1.0mm, 16mm plywood or 19mm particle
board are typically used.
As well as trapping sound, enclosures of the type
shown in Figure 19 and 20 will also trap heat. It is often
necessary therefore to ventilate these enclosures to avoid
overheating of the enclosed machinery. Ventilation
openings must also be acoustically treated to reduce the
escape of sound through these openings. The use of
packaged attenuators, insulation lined ducts or acoustic
louvres are commonly used.
Absorptive treatment may include not only lining
the walls and ceiling of an enclosure but also the use of
discrete screens or baffles. The latter are of particular
value where it is important that the absorptive treatment
does not interfere with the dissipation of heat. Where heat
could cause a problem, then Bradford Rockwool Acoustic
Baffles are specially designed for suspension below existing
Bradford Acoustic Baffles
arranged in parallel pattern
Aluminium
channel
Main
suspension
grid
FIG 18.
ACOUSTIC BAFFLES FIXED IN ALUMINIUM TRACK
AND ARRANGED IN A PARALLEL PATTERN.
Heavy duty flexible pipe
connection, and resilient
mounted pipe/ductwork
Main structure of
building
Bradford
Insulation
Blanket
Minimum
cavity of
200mm
Existing
window
Small
double
glazed
viewing
window
Two steel
soundproof
doors with all
edges sealed
Resilient/floating floor
system
Bradford
Insulation
Blanket in
cavity
factory roofs. Their sound absorption performance is
detailed in the previous section. Baffles will not however
be as effective at reducing noise as an enclosure.
An example of an acoustic enclosure for very high
acoustic insulation is detailed in Fig 21. It shows a room
within a room. These rooms are vibration isolated from
each other.
INSTALLATION DETAILS.
Installation of the sound absorbing rockwool or
glasswool batts to the inside surfaces of the enclosure
proceeds in a similar manner to that previously described
for reverberation control.
Where double-leaf construction is employed a larger
number of variations are possible. One simple yet effective
procedure follows:
Construct a suitable frame using steel angles, channels,
or box sections to provide at least 63mm clearance
between the two leaves. (Note the wider the cavity, the
better the low frequency sound transmission loss). Mount
this frame on a continuous thick rubber mat.
The outer steel sheeting should then be fixed to the
frame as shown in Figure 21, using rubber strips to
reduce sound transmission from the frame to the sheet.
Bradford Fibertex 450
Rockwool or Ultratel
Heavy Gauge
Steel Sheet
Rubber Mounting
FIG 19.
ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE.
Bradford Fibertex 450
Rockwool or Ultratel
Heavy Gauge
Steel Sheet
Rubber Mounting
FIG 20.
ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE WITH
DOUBLE-LEAF CONSTRUCTION.
FIG 21.
ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE WITH VERY HIGH ACOUSTIC INSULATION.
Fix 50mm thick FIBERTEX
R350 to the inside of

the sheeting using weld pins and speed clips. Bend over
the ends of the pins if necessary to avoid contact with the
inner steel sheeting when installed.
The inner sheeting may now be fixed to the frame,
again as shown in Figure 21. The sound absorbing
rockwool or glasswool batts may now be fixed to the
inside of the inner sheet using weld pins, speed clips, and
a suitable facing (wire, meshing, perforated foil).
Alternatively, a perforated metal (such as Bradford
ACOUSTICLAD
) or expanded metal can be used, or

for an aesthetically pleasing finish.
Any gaps, openings or joins in the outer leaf of the
enclosure, should be caulked and doors should use
acoustic door seals.
Products.
350, 450.
, SUPERTEL
,
ULTRATEL
.
Bradford ULTRAPHON
facing.
Partial Enclosures
& Screens.
It is not always practical to totally enclose a noisy
machine. However, the use of a partial enclosure or
screening will still achieve some reduction in noise levels
particularly close to the screens. The previous discussion
on total enclosures also applies to partial enclosures.
However the overall noise reduction of partial enclosures
will not be as great, due to the openings.
As far as is practical, employee work stations should
be located in the shadow zone of the screening and not
in line with the openings in the enclosure. Reflective
surfaces near openings in a partial enclosure should be
treated with rockwool or glasswool insulation to absorb
noise.
Where a particul ar noise source contr ibutes
significantly to the overall noise level in a room, it may
be controlled by a partial enclosure of the type shown in
Figure 22. Much of the sound produced within the
enclosure is absorbed, thus reducing the amount of sound
radiated into the room.
Partial enclosures can be simply fabricated by
sandwiching FIBERTEX
Rockwool or Glasswool Batts

between an outer sheet of plywood and an inner lining
of pegboard. Alternatively, plain hardboard, particleboard,
plasterboard, or sheet metal may be used for the outer
sheet, while the inner lining may be perforated or
expanded metal. The effectiveness of a partial enclosure
depends in part on the weight of the outer sheet and the
percentage of the machinery that is enclosed.
FIG 22.
A PARTIAL ENCLOSURE.
FIG 23.
TYPICAL NOISE PROBLEM WITHOUT
ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE .
FIG 24.
IMPROVED NOISE CONTROL
WITH A PARTIAL ENCLOSURE.
The choice of which type of Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool or Glasswool to use should be based on the

frequency spectrum of the noise source. Select the
material with the highest sound absorption for the
dominant frequency bands of the noise source. High
frequency sound absorption will be affected by the inner
lining. Should the dominant frequency bands of the
noise source be above 1000 Hz, the inner lining should
have a perforated open area of 11% or more to ensure
optimum sound absorption.
The effect of local absorption will be limited by the
need to provide access or ventilation to the equipment
concerned. However, local absorption permits reduction
in sound levels without significantly altering the room
reverberation time.
Figures 23 and 24 show a typical application of a
partial enclosure to reduce noise reaching an operator.
Figure 23 and 24 illustrate the use of partial acoustic
enclosures in a car assembly line application.
Products.
350, 450.
, SUPERTEL
,
ULTRATEL
.
Bradford ULTRAPHON
or HD Perf. facings.
FIG 25.
TYPICAL NOISE PROBLEM WITHOUT ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE.
FIG 26.
TYPICAL PARTIAL ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE APPLICATION.
ACOUSTIC SCREENS.
Simple acoustic screens may be fabricated as shown in
Figure 27, and these may be supported in any framing
suitable to the particular application. Screens can act in
three ways:
As local sound absorbers (i.e. a simple partial
enclosure),
As reverberation control (i.e. more absorption is
introduced to the room),
As a partial barrier (i.e. an acoustic shadow zone is
created behind the screen).
For maximum effect, acoustic screens should be
located as close as practical to the noise source or to
people affected by the noise. They should be as large as
possible, at least the height or width of the machine or
noise source. Air flow requirements should be considered.
Products.
350, 450.
, ULTRATEL
.
Bradford ULTRAPHON
facing.
NOTE: Where the noise level emitted by a factory is
above acceptable community standards, it is wise to
engage the services of a noise control engineer.
Environmental noise legislation is quite complex, and
failure to comply with the relevant noise criteria may
result in severe penalties. Each situation presents its own
unique problems which must be identified and then
corrected.
Vibration Damping.
Vibrating surfaces such as fan casings, pipes, and
ducting can be a major source of noise. Lagging these
surfaces will significantly reduce the noise radiated from
the sources. When treating such surfaces in this manner,
it is essential that lagging be applied over the entire
sound-radiating surface. It is also necessary to avoid
bridging connections between the radiating surface and
the outer cladding. Otherwise, the vibration will be
transmitted directly to the cladding which will itself
become a sound-radiating surface.
VIBRATION ISOLATION.
Vibration isolation involves the isolation of vibrating
machinery from the building structure. In practice this is
achieved by using flexible, resilient mountings, such as
rubber-in-shear rubber or steel springs. Where equipment
is mounted on inertia blocks, there are often advantages
in using a continuous layer of dense rockwool or rubber
as the vibration isolator.
Enclosure
Frame
Fixing
Screw
Other steel
Sheet
Rubber Grommet
FIG 28.
FIXING STEEL SHEET TO MINIMISE
NOISE TRANSMISSION.
Resilient
Fibertex
Rockwool HD
Inertia Block
Waterproof
Film
Z-Section
Plant Room Floor
FIG 29.
FIBERTEX
ROCKWOOL AS A
VIBRATION ISOLATOR.
Decorative,
non-reflective
fabric
Heavyweight
plywood or metal
core
Fibertex Rockwool
or Glasswool
Protective
metal edges
FIG 27.
A SIMPLE ACOUSTIC SCREEN.
By acting equally under the entire area of the block,
the layer of rockwool dampens the rocking motion that
may be present and eliminates point loading on the
structural floor. The static deflection characteristics of
CSR Bradford Insulation products are shown in Product
Guides.
The use of rockwool as an isol ator is not
recommended where the required static deflection
exceeds 10mm. In such cases it is advisable to use rubber
or steel springs.
VIBRATION RESISTANCE.
Bradford FIBERMESH
is particularly suitable for

applications involving both vibration isolation as well as
high temperature, where standard bonded insulation
materials are less resistant to the effects of vibration.
Bradford FIBERMESH
rockwool is stitched to wire

mesh making the blankets especially resistant to fallout
under conditions where vibration is present.
Isolation of machinery from the floor structure will
not achieve its design performance if flanking vibration
paths remain. All connections to the equipment, such as
piping, ductwork, and electrical conduits, should
incorporate a vibration absorbing flexible coupling, and
should also be isolated from the building structure by
flexible mounts.
ARMAFLEX
flexible pipe insulation, a closed cell

nitrite rubber tubing, provides an excellent vibration
isolation gasket for piping and conduit. Typical
applications are shown in Figures 31 and 32.
INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS.
Installation commences with the laying of a suitable
water proof fil m on the pl ant room fl oor. The
FIBERTEX
Rockwool batts are laid flat on the film,

ensuring all joints are tightly butted. The area covered by
the batts should exceed the dimensions of the inertia
block by at least 50mm on each side. The waterproof film
should be wrapped around the outer edges of the
FIBERTEX
Rockwool batts and retained in position by

metal U-channels, timber battens, or other suitable
protective treatment.
The edging material, when installed, must allow for
a 3mm gap between itself and the inertia block. This gap,
and any gaps or joins in the edging material should be
sealed with a flexible, waterproof mastic.
Bradford Quietel
Glasswool Board for
vibration isolation
Use vibration absorbing
flexible couplings on all
rigid connections to the
vibration source
FIG 30.
DENSE GLASSWOOL BOARD USED FOR VIBRATION
ISOLATION OF MACHINES.
FIG 31.
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS OF ARMAFLEX
(a) PIPE SUPPORT.

Sound
Insulating
Wall
False flange
(must not
contact pipe)
Bradford Armaflex
Flexible Pipe
Insulation
Flexible Mastic
(sealing gap
between flange
and pipe)
Pipe
FIG 32. TYPICAL APPLICATIONS OF ARMAFLEX
(b) PENETRATION THROUGH

SOUND INSULATING WALL.
Air Conditioning
Noise Control.
Noise arises in air handling systems principally from fans
and from air flow generated noise in both ducts and
through registers. It is sometimes necessary to deal with
sound transmitted along a duct from one room to another.
This section provides methods and data to assist in the
design of internal duct lining to control noise.
The fan in air conditioning systems is generally the main
noise source. The types of fans used are either axial type
or centrifugal type fans. Axial fans generate a higher
proportion of high frequency noise but less low frequency
noise than centrifugal fans of similar duty. The fan
manufacturer should be able to supply sound power
spectrums of fan noise.
Noise also arises from airflow generated in both the
ducts and registers (also known as regenerated noise).
Usually the greater the velocity of the air through the ducts,
the higher the regenerated noise level.
NOISE CRITERIA.
Noise Criteria curves (NC) and Noise Rating
numbers (NR) have been developed to approximate
loudness contours and speech interference levels at
particular frequencies. These criteria graphs indicate a
sound pressure level at each frequency that will be
appropriate in a particular environment. Noise Rating
numbers are covered by Australian Standard AS1469 :
1983 Acoustics Methods For The Determination Of
Noise Rating Numbers.
Sound levels are often expressed in A-weighted
decibels. Australian Standard AS2107 : 1987 Acoustics
Recommended Design Sound Level s And
Reverberation Times For Building Interiors covers the
recommended background sound levels for occupied
spaces makes use of the dB(A) weighting. It is
recommended that design calculations of noise reduction
use Noise Rating numbers and then convert to dB(A) at
the end of the calculations.
GENERAL PROCEDURE.
The fan sound power level is first established, then
each duct path is examined separately. Noise generated
by 90 elbows and branches is estimated using data from
the Sound and Vibration section of the ASHRAE Guide
and Data Book and added to the fan noise. From this is
deducted any branch take-off losses and the natural
attenuation due to straight runs of duct work, elbows and
end reflections losses, again using the data tabulated in the
ASHRAE Guide. The resultant sound power level
represents the noise reaching the conditioned space. This
is compared to the design requirements for the space
based on the selected Noise Rating number plus
corrections for the characteristics of the room and the
distance to the nearest occupant. If the design goals have
not been achieved, the additional attenuation needed at
each frequency band must be designed into the system.
Duct attenuators can be used, however the most
economical approach where space permits is using
internal duct liners.
FAN NOISE.
Generally the fan manufacturer will provide data on
fan noise characteristics. However if no data is available,
the following empirical formulae developed by Beranek
may prove useful:
SWL = 77 + 10 log kW + 10 log P
SWL = 25 + 10 log Q + 20 log P
SWL = 130 + 20 log kW - 10 log Q
Where:
SWL = overall fan sound power level, dB
kW = rated motor power, kW
P = static pressure developed by fan, mm w.g.
Q= volume flow delivered, m
3
/h
Octave band sound power levels are then found by
subtracting correction factors from the overall sound
power level calculated by any one of the above formulae.
Maximum noise usually occurs from the blade tip
frequency of the fan. This is determined from the number
of blades on the fan rotor multiplied by the number of
revolutions per second. The octave band in which the
blade tip frequency falls will have the highest sound
power level and therefore the smallest correction factor
to be subtracted from the overall sound power level.
A fans rotating blades produce tones at the blade pass
frequency (BPF).
Where:
BPF = blade pass frequency (Hz)
rpm = revolutions per minute
N = number of fan blades
Har monics and sub-har monics may result at
frequencies which are multiples of the blade pass
frequencies.
The recommended correction factors are indicated in
Table 9.
rpm x 60
N
BPF =
DUCT ATTENUATION.
Air handling duct work is internally lined using
rockwool or glasswool insulation boards or blankets faced
with an acoustically transparent facing to provide adequate
sound absorption by the insulation. In addition the facing
must provide minimal airflow resistance inside the duct
and may also need to act as a vapour barrier. For
maximum sound absorption, the duct liners facing should
be as light and porous as possible to allow sound to
penetrate it.
Internal duct liners commonly use Bradford R-rated
Ductliners, SUPERTEL
or ULTRATEL
Glasswool faced with:

Bradford ACOUSTITUFF
Bradford ULTRAPHON
woven glass fabric,

Lightweight THERMOTUFF
,
Heavy Duty 750P THERMOFOIL
perforated,
Black or clear fibreglass tissue or
Fine, lightweight polyester films (Mylar or Melinex).
Appendix C, Table C7, Contains comparative noise
reduction coefficients for Bradford products.
The most important octave bands where fan noise is
concerned are the 125Hz and 250Hz bands. Ducts
internally lined with a suitable length and at least 50mm
thickness of Bradford Glasswool or FIBERTEX
Ductliner can effectively reduce the low frequency

component of fan noise. The thicker the internal duct
liner, the better the low frequency sound absorption.
The thermal performance of the insulation for air
conditioning ducts can be calculated using the data in the
CSR Bradford Insulation Air Conditioning Design
Guide.
Table 10 is a guide to the attenuation achieved by
lining two opposite sides of a duct with Bradford
Glasswool ULTRATEL
at 50mm and 100mm thickness.

The distance D is the depth in mm between the linings.
It is assumed that any facing material used is deemed
acoustically transparent.
If the duct is to be lined on all four sides, the total
attenuation may be obtained by arithmetically adding the
attenuation achieved by lining the other two opposite
sides.
TABLE 9. CORRECTIONS FOR FAN SOUND POWER LEVELS.
Blade Tip Frequency 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Fan Type Band Octave Octave Octave Octave Octave Octave
Centrifugal Backward Curved Blades 4 6 9 11 13 16 19
Forward Curved Blades 2 6 13 18 19 22 25
Radial Blades 3 5 11 12 15 20 23
Axial 7 9 7 7 8 11 16
Mixed Flow 0 3 6 6 10 15 21
TABLE 10. CALCULATED LINED DUCT ATTENUATION, dB/m.
Lining Depth Between Linings D Frequency (Hz)
Thickness mm 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
50mm 200 1.3 4.5 10.8 15.8 15.4 7.7
300 1.2 3.3 7.7 9.2 6.8 3.4
400 1.2 2.6 5.8 8.0 3.8 1.9
600 1.0 1.5 3.5 3.4 1.6 0.9
800 0.6 1.2 2.4 2.0 1.0 0.4
1000 0.5 1.1 2.0 1.1 0.6 0.3
100mm 200 4.3 8.8 14.5 15.8 15.4 7.7
300 3.2 6.5 10.2 9 6.8 3.4
400 2.1 5.4 7.9 8.0 3.8 1.9
600 1.7 3.8 5.2 3.4 1.6 0.9
800 1.3 2.9 4.0 2.0 1.0 0.4
1000 0.8 2.0 3.1 1.1 0.6 0.3
Limit of Attenuation 26 31 38 42 50 60
Table 10, shows that the smaller the duct dimensions, the higher the attenuation per length of duct.
1
Sound Research Laboratories, Noise Control in Building Services, Pergamon Press, First Edition 1988.
For more examples of duct losses, refer to ASHRAE
(American Society Of Heating Refrigeration Engineers)
publications.
It should be noted, that a limit to the attenuation of
sound in duct work may be imposed by flanking
transmission or noise breakout. This particularly occurs
when the aim is to achieve high attenuation in a short
length of straight duct.
There are positive steps that can be taken to counter
the effect of flanking transmission but for the purpose of
this guide it is recommended that, in using these Tables,
reliance should not be placed on achieving attenuation in
excess of the limiting values shown. If attenuation beyond
these limits is required, it should be achieved by other
acoustic treatment or lining at a location remote from the
length of duct under consideration.
Duct Dimensions
x (mm)
75 200
200 400
400 800
800 1500
Octave Band Centre Frequency Hz)
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
Attenuation dB/metre run
0.07 0.10 0.10 0.16 0.33 0.33 0.33
0.07 0.10 0.10 0.16 0.23 0.23 0.23
0.07 0.07 0.07 0.10 0.16 0.16 0.16
0.03 0.03 0.03 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07
x
Straight Duct
Circular/Oval or
Rigid Walled (unlined)
TABLE 11. ATTENUATION OF UNLINED DUCTS.
Duct Dimensions
x (mm)
75 200
200 400
400 800
800 1500
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
0.16 0.33 0.49 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33
0.49 .66 0.49 0.33 0.23 0.23 0.23
0.82 0.66 0.33 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16
0.66 0.33 0.16 0.10 0.07 0.07 0.07
x
x
Straight Duct
Rectangular (unlined)
Duct Dimensions
x (mm)
75 200
200 400
400 800
800 1500
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
0.14 0.20 0.20 0.32 0.33 0.33 0.33
0.14 0.20 0.20 0.32 0.23 0.23 0.23
0.14 0.14 0.14 0.20 0.16 0.16 0.16
0.06 0.06 0.06 0.14 0.07 0.07 0.07
x
Straight Duct
Circular/Oval or
(externally lagged)
TABLE 12. IN-DUCT ATTENUATION WITHIN EXTERNALLY LAGGED DUCTS.
Duct Dimensions
x (mm)
75 200
200 400
400 800
800 1500
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
0.33 0.66 1.00 0.66 0.33 0.33 0.33
1.00 1.32 1.00 0.66 0.23 0.23 0.23
1.64 1.32 0.66 0.32 0.16 0.16 0.16
1.32 0.66 0.32 0.20 0.07 0.07 0.07
x
x
Straight Duct
Rectangular
(externally lagged)
Duct Dimensions
D (mm)
150 250
250 500
500 1000
1000 2000
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
Attenuation dB
- - - - 1 2 3
- - - 1 2 3 3
- - 1 2 3 3 3
- 1 2 3 3 3 3
D
Straight Duct
Circular/Oval or
Rigid Walled (unlined)
TABLE 13. ATTENUATION OF RADIUS BENDS.
D
Duct Dimension
D (mm)
75 200
100 150
150 200
200 250
250 300
300 400
400 500
500 600
600 700
700 800
800 900
900 1000
1000 1100
1100 1200
1200 1300
1300 1400
1400 1500
1500 1600
1600 1800
1800 2000
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
Attenuation dB
- - - - 1 7 7
- - - - 5 8 4
- - - 1 7 7 4
- - - 5 8 4 3
- - 1 7 7 4 3
- - 2 8 5 3 3
- - 5 8 4 3 3
- - 6 8 4 3 3
- 1 7 7 4 3 3
- 2 8 5 3 3 3
- 3 8 5 3 3 3
- 5 8 4 3 3 3
1 6 8 4 3 3 3
1 7 7 4 3 3 3
1 7 7 4 3 3 3
2 8 7 3 3 3 3
2 8 6 3 3 3 3
3 8 5 3 3 3 3
5 8 4 3 3 3 3
6 8 4 3 3 3 3
D
Mitre Bend
(unlined)
TABLE 14. ATTENUATION OF MITRE (90) BENDS.
Duct Dimension
D (mm)
75 200
100 150
150 200
200 250
250 300
300 400
400 500
500 600
600 700
700 800
800 900
900 1000
1000 1100
1100 1200
1200 1300
1300 1400
1400 1500
1500 1600
1600 1800
1800 2000
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
Attenuation dB
- - - - 2 13 18
- - - 1 7 16 18
- - - 4 13 18 18
- - 1 7 16 18 16
- - 2 11 18 18 17
- - 4 14 18 18 17
- 1 5 16 18 16 17
- 1 8 17 18 16 17
- 2 13 18 18 17 18
- 3 14 18 17 16 18
- 4 15 18 18 17 18
- 5 16 18 17 17 18
1 7 17 18 16 17 18
1 8 17 18 16 17 18
1 10 17 18 16 18 18
2 11 18 18 16 18 18
2 12 18 18 16 18 18
3 14 18 18 17 18 18
4 15 18 18 17 18 18
5 16 18 17 17 18 18
D
Mitre Bend
(lined)
Lining Thickness =
Lining to extend
distance 2D or greater
D
10
MEASURED SOUND ATTENUATION
IN DUCTS.
CSR Bradford Insulation has carried out extensive
research to establish the real performance of duct liners
in reducing noise levels. Tests have been carried out on
Bradford Insulation 25mm and 50mm duct liners using
different duct sizes and lengths of lined duct.
Figures 33, 34 and 35 have been plotted from
measurements of sound levels taken in standard sheetmetal
ducts using 25mm duct liners. The graphs present a
conservative guide to the performance of all Bradford
Glasswool and Fibertex
Rockwool duct liners at 25mm

thickness. Four different lengths of lining are shown for
each of three duct sizes.
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Frequency (Hz)
I
n
s
e
r
t
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
4.9m
3.7m
2.4m
Bend
1.2m
FIG 35.
SOUND ATTENUATION IN DUCT SIZE 508 x 610mm.
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Frequency (Hz)
I
n
s
e
r
t
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
4.9m
3.7m
2.4m
Bend
1.2m
FIG 33.
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Frequency (Hz)
I
n
s
e
r
t
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
4.9m
3.7m
2.4m
Bend
1.2m
FIG 34.
Insertion Loss (dB loss 600x600x4000 test duct)
Product Facing Thickness Octave Band Centre Frequency (Hz)
mm 63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Bradford Glasswool BMF 50 1.4 4.6 16.8 53.2 51.6 32.4 24.4
DUCTLINER
THERMOFOIL
32 kg/m
3
HD Perf.
50 1.6 5.3 18.9 53.4 48.3 31.8 24.6
23m Melinex
+ THERMOFOIL
50 1.9 5.7 21.1 26.6 16.7 12.9 12.8

HD Perf.
ACOUSTITUFF
50 2.5 4.7 21.3 46.8 39.3 23.3 17.4

ULTRAPHON
50 2.0 5.0 20.9 51.5 46.6 30.3 27.5

Bradford Premium
Ductliner ULTRATEL ACOUSTITUFF
50 4.9 14.2 39.0 37.0 22.4 18.6

48 kg/m
3
Bradford FIBERTEX
THERMOFOIL
DUCTLINER HD Perf. 50 2.8 5.8 19.9 56.6 49.1 32.4 24.6

60 kg/m
3
TABLE 15. INSERTION LOSS CHARACTERISTICS OF FACED DUCTLINERS.
(INTERNAL DUCT LINING)
Research has also been carr ied out on sound
attenuation characteristics of different facing materials
used on duct liners. Insertion Loss measurements carried
out in accordance with Australian Standard AS1277 :
1983 Acoustics - Measurement Procedure For Ducted
Silences demonstrate the effect of typical facing materials
on the acoustic performance of Bradford Glasswool and
FIBERTEX
duct liners, as shown in Table 15.

An alternative rough indication of attenuation
achieved by the lining of ductwork can be found by use
of the Sabine formula. This gives reasonable results for
straight ducts at low frequencies provided the smallest duct
dimension is within the range 150 mm to 450 mm and
the width is no greater than three times the depth.
Where:
P = inside perimeter of lined duct, m
A = internal cross-sectional area, m
2
= absorption coefficient of the duct liner at the
frequency concerned.
1.07 P
1.4
A
Attenuation (dB/m)
=
Constraints
accuracy = 10%
frequency range, 250 to 2000Hz
0.8
for circular ducts, Diameter > 0.15m
for rectangular ducts, width or height 900mm and
The location of duct lining can be a critical factor. It
is normally placed at the start of a duct system to attenuate
fan noise and near the outlets to correct air flow generated
noise from dampers and fittings, and to restrict noise
transmission from adjacent areas through the air
conditioning duct.
< 2
width
height
0.5 <
D a
b
TABLE 16.
SOUND ABSORPTION OF BULK INSULATION DUCTLINERS .
Product Facings Thickness Frequency (Hz)
(mm) 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 5000 NRC*
Bradford Glasswool THERMOFOIL
25 0.08 0.39 0.73 1.02 1.12 0.84 0.75 0.81

DUCTLINER/ HD Perf. 50 0.23 0.71 0.99 1.09 0.97 0.78 0.59 0.94
SUPERTEL
BMF 25 0.07 0.26 0.65 0.93 1.04 1.03 1.00 0.72

32kg/m
3
50 0.24 0.62 1.00 1.07 1.12 1.15 1.17 0.95
ULTRAPHON
25 0.10 0.39 0.79 1.00 1.01 1.00 0.95 0.81

50 0.30 1.01 1.31 1.20 1.05 0.97 0.95 1.14
ACOUSTITUFF
25 0.14 0.45 0.99 0.97 0.55 0.29 0.25 0.75

50 0.33 1.01 1.17 0.99 0.64 0.34 0.28 0.95
25 0.12 0.31 0.81 1.09 1.09 0.91 0.89 0.83

Premium HD Perf. 75 0.69 1.19 1.15 1.09 1.03 0.92 0.90 1.12
DUCTLINER/ ACOUSTITUFF
25 0.05 0.55 0.65 0.90 0.70 0.50 0.50 0.70

ULTRATEL
48kg/m
3
50 0.30 0.75 0.90 0.85 0.65 0.50 0.60 0.79
Bradford THERMOFOIL
25 0.14 0.38 0.87 1.07 1.06 0.90 0.79 0.85

FIBERTEX
HD Perf. 50 0.31 0.83 1.16 0.99 0.90 0.78 0.73 0.97

DUCTLINER BMF 25 0.15 0.33 0.74 0.94 1.03 1.04 0.98 0.76
60kg/m
3
50 0.36 0.76 1.19 1.09 1.03 1.04 0.90 1.01
Bradford
FIBERTEX

450 ULTRAPHON
50 0.43 0.99 1.09 1.11 1.04 1.03 1.03 1.06

80kg/m
3
ACOUSTITUFF
50 0.54 0.99 1.07 0.81 0.57 0.33 0.25 0.85

* NRC: Arithmetic average of absorption coefficients of frequency 250, 500, 1000 and 2000Hz.
AIR FRICTION.
The energy absorbed by frictional losses in the air
handling system may be significant, particularly for high
velocity systems. The following information will assist the
designer in assessing the effect of duct liners upon
frictional losses.
The usual procedure for determining friction losses in
air ducts is by use of the Air Friction Charts published by
the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals and the IHVE
Guide. These charts provide friction losses for sheet
metal ducts of standard construction. These losses must
be multiplied by a factor to correct for the influence of
duct liners.
The following graph shows correction factors for the
Bradford range of Glasswool and FIBERTEX
Rockwool
duct liners. It is based on actual tests on a lined duct of
460 x 200mm internal dimensions, equivalent to a
280mm diameter circular duct. To adjust the correction
factor selected for ducts of other dimensions, increase by
up to 10% for circular equivalent sizes down to 150mm
and decrease by up to 10% for circular equivalent sizes up
to 1000mm.
ATTENUATION OF LINED BENDS.
The application of acoustic lining to bends can be very
effective in attenuating duct-borne sound. Square elbows
are preferred to radius bends. The lining should have a
thickness at least 10% of D, the clear width between the
two linings (refer diagram), and the length of lining
should extend a distance not less than 2D before and after
the bend.
Table 17 gives attenuation in dB achieved by square
el bows without tur ning vanes when l ined as
recommended.
TABLE 17. ATTENUATION BY LINED
SQUARE ELBOWS, dB.
D Frequency (Hz)
(mm) 63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
125 1 6 12 14 16
250 1 6 12 14 16 18
500 1 6 12 14 16 18 18
1000 1 6 12 14 16 18 18 18
ATTENUATION BY LINED PLENUMS.
The acoustical lining of fan discharge and suction
plenums is often the most economical and convenient
approach to achieving a major part of the sound
attenuation required in a system. The following formula
gives an approximate value of the attenuation achieved by
this means (refer diagram).
Attenuation =
Where:
= absorption coefficient of the lining
S
o
= area of outlet opening, m
2
S
w
= total plenum wall area, m
2
d = slant distance, centre inlet to centre outlet, m
= angle of incidence at the outlet, degrees.
]
1
S
w
+
S
o
(cos)
(2d
2
)
[S
o
10 log
10
2D
D
Lining
Thickness
(10% of D min.)
Acoustic
Lining
FIG 36.
SOUND ATTENUATION BY LINED SQUARE ELBOWS.
d
FIG 37.
SOUND ATTENUATION IN LINED PLENUM.
1
2
20 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
1.5
2.0
C
o
r
r
e
c
t
i
o
n

F
a
c
t
o
r
Air Velocity (m/s)
FIG 38. AIR FRICTION CORRECTION FACTOR.
1 = Black Matt tissue (BMF) Faced Ductliners.
2 = THERMOFOIL
Perforated Foil Laminate Faced

Ductliners.
RESISTANCE TO AIR EROSION AND
RECOMMENDED VELOCITIES
Bradford Glasswool and FIBERTEX
Rockwool
ductliners have been tested for surface erosion at extreme
velocities by the quantitative method developed by the
CSR Building Materials Research Laboratories, based on
Underwriters Laboratory Standard UL181-1990. The
products were subject to velocities up to 40m/s and then
a safety factor of 0.4 applied in accordance with the
Underwriters Laboratory test. On the basis of these
results and typical air friction correction factors from
ASHRAE, the following maximum design velocities are
recommended.
TABLE 18.
MAXIMUM DESIGN VELOCITY.
Product Maximum Design
Velocity (m/s)
Bradford Glasswool
Covered with Perforated Metal 23
Faced with Perforated Foil 18
Faced with Black Matt Tissue (BMF) 22
Faced with ACOUSTITUFF
30
Faced with ULTRAPHON
26
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool
FIBERTEX
Ductliner CF covered
with Perforated Metal 23
FIBERTEX
Ductliner with Perforated Foil18

FIBERTEX
Ductliner faced with

Black Matt Tissue (BMF) 22
EXTERNAL DUCT LAGGING.
External lining (lagging) of air conditioning ducts
with foil faced rockwool or glasswool reduces duct
breakout noise by damping the duct. Some of the noise
which breaks out through the lagged duct is absorbed by
the surrounding insulation. The sound attenuation
achieved inside the duct is also enhanced by duct lagging
particularly at low frequencies, up to about 500Hz.
Air handling ducts are commonly lagged using:
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Ductwrap
or FLEXITEL
with Medium or Heavy Duty THERMOFOIL
.
Bradford Glasswool THERMOGOLD
Ductwrap.
DUCT BREAK OUT-NOISE.
Noise breakout from ducts can occur from:
Fan noise passing through the duct
Aerodynamic noise (also know as re-generated noise),
from obstructions fittings etc in the duct
Turbulent airflow causing duct walls to vibrate and
rumble radiating low frequency airborne noise.
Solutions to reduce noise breakout from ducts:
Stiffer ducts (circular ducts are better than square or
rectangular). External bracing of ducts increases
stiffness, however it can improve the radiation
efficiency of the duct cancelling the benefit of
increased stiffness.
Using heavier material for duct walls and increasing
damping (ie. thicker steel sheeting).
Adding damping (spray on or sel f adhesive
compounds).
Acoustic lagging, preferably with a heavy limp
impervious layer isolated or decoupled from the duct
wi th ei ther gl asswool (such as Bradf ord
ACOUSTILAG
) or rockwool.
The solutions to reduce noise breaking out from
ducts can be expensive. Therefore it is more cost effective
to avoid noise break out problems than to try to correct
them later.
DUCT BREAK-IN NOISE.
Noise inside ceiling plenums or from air conditioning
equipment, plant rooms etc, can break into ducts,
particularly flexible ducts and then be carried into rooms
or spaces below.
Flexible ducts, due to their light weight, flexibility,
speed and ease of installation, are commonly used in air
conditioning systems. Noise can more easily penetrate
flexible ducts because of their lightweight nature.
To avoid break-in noise, the following can be used:
Where possible, avoid ducts passing through noisy
areas as this can significantly increase noise through the
air conditioning system.
Replace lightweight flexible ducts with heavier
ducting such as sheet steel.
The flexible ducts can be enclosed in a solid enclosure
constructed from timber, plasterboard or sheet steel,
etc.
Before enclosing flexible ducts, it should be noted that
noise in the ceiling cavity will most likely penetrate the
ceiling. This will happen more so if lightweight lay-in tiles
using metal grids are used. Fixed plasterboard ceilings give
better acoustic performance than lightweight ceiling tiles.
FLOW GENERATED NOISE.
Turbulent noise in ducts is generated from the following:
Objects such as dampers, grilles, rods, etc.
Constrictions in duct cross sectional area, orifice
plates, silencer splitters etc.
Jet noise, inlet or discharge noise flowing through
orifices.
Boundary layer turbulence, air passing over the inner
surface of the duct.
Flow around bends and duct take offs (branches).
These sources cause turbulence in ducts and this noise
is also known as re-generated noise. The intensity of the
re-generated noise depends upon the velocity of the air
in the duct.
END REFLECTIONS.
At the end of a duct (register, diffuser grille etc.) the
air meets a large increase in volume. This allows expansion
of the air providing useful sound energy losses at the low
frequencies. This is termed end reflection loss.
A higher number of small registers spaced well apart
will transmit less low frequency noise into a room than
one large single register.
DUCT ATTENUATORS OR DUCT
SILENCERS.
Duct attenuators or silencers are used where high
attenuation is required. These silencers usually consist of
sheet steel duct housing containing sound absorbent
splitters usually made of rockwool or glasswool. The
silencers attenuation is normally quoted as an insertion
loss in octave frequency bands.
Silencers cause a pressure drop across them and also
regenerated noise through the splitters, which increases
with the air velocity through the ducts.
Silencers should ideally be located where the duct
leaves the plant room (see Figure 39). Care must be
taken to avoid plant room noise from entering the quiet
side of the silencer.
Standard silencers incorporate a perforated metal
screen backed by Bradford Glasswool or Bradford
FIBERTEX
Rockwool faced with black fibreglass tissue

(BMT).
An alternative design, particularly for smaller systems,
is to f ace the r igid insul ation with Bradford
ULTRAPHON
wrapped or taped around the edges and

glued into the C-channel supporting the frame.
Test results are shown in Appendix C, Table C9.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool is recommended
for high temperature attenuation such as hot gas exhausts.
Plant Room
Noise break-out from
noisy side of attenuator
Bad location
Bad location
Plant Room
Noise break-In
to quiet side of
attenuator
Plant Room
Ideal (but impractical) location
Plant Room
Good practical location
FIG 39.
LOCATION OR DUCT ATTENUATOR.
FLANKING THROUGH AIR
CONDITIONING DUCTS.
Where two rooms are served by common ducts,
sound (ie speech, machinery noise etc) can travel from
one room and into the next room via the duct. In some
buildings, speech can be heard through ducts. This is also
known as crosstalk.
Crosstalk or sound through ducts can be attenuated
by:
internally lining ducts with rockwool or glasswool.
increase the length of internally lined duct between
offices. (Refer to Figure 40).
increase the amount of end reflection (more smaller
registers are preferable to fewer larger registers).
fitting duct silencers.
modifications to room layouts to reduce crosstalk.
Air Flow
Crosstalk
path
Crosstalk
path
Crosstalk
path
Crosstalk
path
Air Flow
Layout To Be Avoided
Preferred Layout
Crosstalk
FIG 40. DUCTWORK LAYOUT TO REDUCE CROSSTALK.
Products Internal Duct Lining:
The following glasswool blankets are generally used for
internal duct lining:
Bradford SUPERTEL
Glasswool (32kg/m
3
).
Bradford R-rated Ductliner (32kg/m
3
).
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Ductliner
(60kg/m
3
).
The above Glasswool blankets can be faced with:
ULTRAPHON
(black glass cloth fabric)

ACOUSTITUFF
(lightweight foil facing)

Heavy Duty THERMOFOIL
750P perforated,
(optional: Mylar film between blanket and foil to
prevent fibre release).
Fine, lightweight polyester films (Mylar or Melinex).
Black or clear fibreglass tissue.
Products External Duct Lagging:
Bradford THERMOGOLD
Ductwrap (18kg/m
3
).
Bradford MULTITEL
Glasswool (18kg/m
3
) with
Medium Duty THERMOFOIL
.
Bradford FLEXITEL
Glasswool (24kg/m
3
) with
Medium Duty THERMOFOIL
.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Ductwrap (50kg/m

3
)
with Medium Duty THERMOFOIL
.
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20 or 23.
Ceilings should include increased mass to increase
their STC rating. Multi layers of CSR Gyprock
plasterboard can be used with Bradford Rockwool or

Glasswool Ceiling Batts above.
Floors should be insulated with Bradford Floor Batts
particularly if the cinema room is upstairs. (see
Floor/Ceiling Noise Control Systems, Appendix B).
Windows should be double glazed with preferably
different size laminated glass panes to provide better
damping. Large air gaps between the glass panes, and
properly sealed around the perimeter of the frame also
increases the windows acoustic rating. Laminated
single pane glass is the next best choice.
Doors should be solid core timber or metal with
good quality door seals. Preferably double doors or an
insulated sound lock should be used.
Note that if the room has ducted air conditioning, then
flanking can occur through the ducting and sound can pass
into the next room.
Bradford Products for
Walls:
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Partition Batts.
Bradford SoundScreen
.
Ceilings:
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Ceiling Batts.
Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Panel Overlays.
350, 450.
, SUPERTEL
,
ULTRATEL
.
Bradford Glasswool Absorption Blanket.
Home Cinema.
The current trend in households today is the use of
timber floors or tiled floors which are hard and
acoustically reflective. These together with reflective
walls and ceilings result in long reverberation times not
suited to home cinema systems.
Under these circumstances, home cinema systems
will require more sound absorption in the room to lower
the reverberation time closer to the optimum level suited
to amplified music and speech. Note that too much
absorption will make the room dead and result in poorer
quality sound.
To lower the reverberation time of a room, install:
Decorative fabric faced rockwool or glasswool absorbers
on the walls.
Velour coated high density rockwool or glasswool on
the walls.
Perforated timber, Gyprock
plasterboard or perforated
metal pan ceiling with rockwool or glasswool insulation
above.
Rugs, carpet, curtains and soft furniture in the room.
The acoustic reproduction of many modern home
cinema systems is very good, and they can generate high
levels of bass sound which penetrates building materials
more easily. Low frequency sound is also more difficult
to absorb.
Therefore the home cinema system room may be a
source of noise for others in the household or neighbours,
particul arl y if the vol ume is l oud.
These rooms should be treated or sound proofed if
they are likely to cause disturbance to others. The
following treatments should be considered:
Brick veneer walls should use mutli-layers of CSR
Gyprock
Fyrchek
or Soundchek
plasterboard to
add mass and increase the STC of the walls. Ideally,
the wall should have two separate studs with Bradford
Rockwool or Glasswool Partition Batts inside the
cavity walls. Bradford batts inside cavity partitions
can increase the walls acoustic rating by STC 10. If this
is not possible then staggered studs or the widest stud
cavity available should be used and filled with Bradford
Rockwool or Glasswool Partition Batts.
Bradford Acoustic Solutions for
Specialty Applications.
Auditoriums.
Auditoriums are a specialised area of room acoustics
with many books written on the subject. The acoustic
design of auditoriums should be undertaken by an
experienced acoustic consultant. This is a simplified
guide to the acoustic requirements of auditoriums.
The shape and size of an auditorium can have a great
influence of the acoustics of the space. It is also very
important to control the auditoriums reverberation time
so the users can experience good acoustics. General
purpose auditoriums can have multiple uses such as
speech and amplified music which have conflicting
reverberation times.
The acoustic designer needs to determine the
auditoriums optimum reverberation time for its intended
use. Computer software is available that allows modelling
the optimum reverberation time for the room. Sound
absorbing materials are added to the rooms surfaces to fine
tune and optimise the rooms reverberation time. Artificial
reverberation can be added either acoustically or
electronically to modify the sound.
The relationship between reverberation time and
sound absorption is given by the Eyrings equation (refer
to Reverberation Control, page 63).
There are a number of methods used to absorb sound
in an auditorium. These include:
Sound absorbing panels consisting of fabric faced
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool. The decorative
facing chosen should be acoustically transparent (with
low flow resistance) to maximise sound absorption
within the insulation. Decorative open weave fabrics
are suitable for these acoustic applications.
is ideal broad band

industrial grade absorber which can be used in
auditoriums.
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool behind spaced
timber panels (slotted or slatted). The sound travels
through the gaps in the timber and is absorbed by the
insulation.
Alternative treatments include fixing the sound
absorbing batts behind perforated panels, such as
plywood, Gyprock
plasterboard or metal. The use of

a BMF (Black Matt Facing) tissue or Bradford
ULTRAPHON
on the insulation is recommended

for aesthetic reasons.
Membrane or panel absorbers typically solid,
reflective panels (timber, plasterboard etc.) fixed to
walls on studwork. Panel absorbers can be tuned to
resonate (absorb) sound within a narrow frequency
range. Adding rockwool or glasswool insulation in the
air cavity of panel absorbers, increase their absorptive
frequency range.
FIG 41.
TYPICAL ACOUSTIC TREATMENTS FOR AUDITORIUM WALLS AND CEILINGS.
Acoustic Absorbing
Panels on walls
Bradford Partition Batts
Bradford Acousticon
Roofing Blanket
Bradford
Ceiling Batts
Cavity absorbers are usually an enclosed volume of
air with a small neck/opening (often known as
Helmholtz resonators. Cavity absorbers provide a
very narrow band of sound absorption, which can be
expanded with the use of rockwool or glasswool in the
air space. These absorbers have specialised acoustic
applications such as studios and auditoria, and for
pure tone absorption.
Perforated metal ceiling panels with rockwool or
glasswool insulation above. The size, number of
perforations, insulation type, thickness and density
can affect the frequency at which maximum
absorption occurs.
On occasions, auditoriums have dual uses, for example
speech and amplified music. It is possible to introduce
absor ption into these auditor iums to lower the
reverberation time to suit the acoustic requirements.
Temporary absorbing panels can be introduced in the
form of sliding acoustic doors, or portable architecturally
designed sound absorptive structures to suit the decor of
the auditorium.
Sound absorption is often required on the rear wall of
the auditorium to stop unwanted reflection of sound. The
personal address system amplifier, type and size of
microphones, number of speakers, sound delay, etc., also
need to be considered.
It is important to stop unwanted noise from entering
the auditorium from people, air conditioning, road and
rail traffic, aircraft, public amenities, foyers, rain etc.
To reduce extraneous noise from entering the
auditorium:
Fill any wall cavities with Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool Partition Batts.
Install Bradford ACOUSTICON
foil faced roofing

blanket under steel roofing to reduce rain noise by up
to 18dB(A). Refer to Rain Noise Reduction with
Metal Deck Roofing, page 20.
Internally line air conditioning ducts with rockwool or
glasswool (either using foil facing, fine fibreglass tissue,
or ULTRAPHON
.
Externally lag ducts with rockwool or glasswool faced
with Bradford Thermofoil
facing. Consider the use of

duct silencers to reduce air conditioning noise levels.
Locate the plant room of the air conditioning system
away from the auditorium. If this is not possible, then
acoustically treat the plant room with high STC walls,
roof/ceiling, floors, doors etc.
Lag waste pipes inside auditorium with Bradford
Acoustilag
23 or 26.
Install acoustic door seals on door perimeters or
absorbent sound locks.
Products.
Bradford Glasswool or Rockwool Partition Batts.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool.
, FLEXITEL
,
SUPERTEL
or ULTRATEL
.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Ductl iner

(60kg/m
3
).
.
.
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Ductliner.
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
23 or 26.
Insulation facings:
Bradford THERMOFOIL
(Light, Medium and

Heavy Duty or Heavy Duty perforated).
Bradford THERMOTUFF
foil.
Bradford ULTRAPHON
.
.
Black or clear fibreglass tissue.
Sports Complexes.
Sporting complexes can suffer from poor acoustics due
to the high reverberation times caused by the lack of
sound absorptive finishes within the space. This can result
in difficulty understanding speech.
Sporting complexes therefore, require sound
absorptive material to be added to achieve a lower
reverberation time suitable for speech. (Refer to Table A5,
page 64).
The following describes ways to add sound absorption
in a sporting complex:
Fabric faced rockwool or glasswool acoustic absorbers
for the walls.
Velour coated high density rockwool or glasswool
absorbers for the walls.
wall/ceiling absorber.
Porous absorbers such as rockwool or glasswool
insulation with a perforated facing of; metal, timber,
or Gyprock
plasterboard etc. The use of a fine

fibreglass tissue facing BMF (Black Matt Facing) tissue
or Bradford ULTRAPHON
on the insulation can be

used for aesthetic reasons and eliminates fibre release.
wall and ceiling absorber

is durable and its high acoustic absorption is an
excel l ent choice for sports compl exes.
ACOUSTICLAD
offers excellent test results with

NRC ranges from 0.9 to 1.05.
Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool behind spaced
timber panels (slotted or slatted). The sound enters the
insulation through the gaps in the timber and is
absorbed by the insulation.
To reduce rain nose under metal roofing, install
Bradford ACOUSTICON
foil faced roofing blanket

under the metal deck. This can reduce rain noise by up
to 18dB(A) and improve the STC rating of the roof.
To reduce timber floor impact noise, use a resilient
materials such as rubber, dense rockwool or glasswool,
rubber/cork compounds etc., beneath the battens or
floor joists and the floor supports.
For existing floors, a floating floor can be constructed
above the existing floor with a resilient material layer
between the two flooring systems. The correct stiffness
of the damping layer should be selected for both the
static and dynamic loads. The two floors should not be
mechanically fixed with nails or screws as this would
make the damping material redundant.
It is advisable to consult an acoustic consultant for
vibration isolated flooring systems.
If the sports complex is on a second storey of a
building, install Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Ceiling
Batts beneath the complexs floor in the floor/ceiling
cavity.
Bradford Products.
wall/ceiling absorber.
Bradford FIBERTEX
ROCKWOOL.
, SUPERTEL
or
ULTRATEL
with optional BMF, ULTRAPHON
or
THERMOFOIL
facings.
.
.
FIG 42.
TYPICAL ACOUSTIC TREATMENTS FOR SPORTS COMPLEX.
Bradford
Acoustic
Baffles
Bradford
Wall Batts
Bradford
Acousticon
Roofing
Blanket
Bradford
Partition Batts
Acoustic
Absorbing
Panels
Fyrchek
on walls and ceilings, with Bradford Rockwool

or Glasswool Partition/Ceiling Batts installed. Heavier
glazing and addressing flanking paths should also be
considered. (Refer to additional information detailed for
Walls, Roof/Ceilings and Floors).
Products.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool.
Bradford Glasswool or Rockwool Partition Batts.
SUPERTEL
or
ULTRATEL
with BMF or ULTRAPHON
.
.
Bradford ACOUSTICON
.
Karaoke & Nightclubs.
Karaoke Rooms and Nightclubs will require
reverberation times optimised for music. Amplified music
played in these venues has considerable low frequency
bass energy. To optimise the acoustics, the reverberation
times should be slightly longer at the lower frequencies.
To control reverberation in these rooms use:
Porous absorbers Fabric faced rockwool or glasswool
absorbers for the walls.
metal pan ceiling with rockwool or glasswool
insulation above.
perforated metal panel

ceiling system.
Membrane or panel absorbers.
Canteens/Restaurants.
Canteens and restaurants that have hard floors, walls
and ceilings, are very reverberant, especially when full of
diners and music. Noise is generated from voices and
cutlery. Often soft music is used to provide an ambience
and some acoustic masking.
These noise sources make communication difficult,
and people tend to raise their voices to be heard, which
in-turn increases the noise level in the room.
Canteens and restaurants can benefit from added
sound absorption in the room to control reverberation.
To lower the reverberation time within a canteen or
restaurant, install:
Fabric faced rockwool or glasswool absorbers on the
walls.
perforated metal wall

absorber with rockwool or glasswool insulation
(encapsulated in a thin polyester film such as Mylar or
Melinex to stop fibre release).
metal pan ceiling with rockwool or glasswool
insulation above. Insulation should be encapsulated to
stop fibre release.
Note that too much absorption may make the room
acoustically dead, and can result in a lack of acoustic
privacy for diners.
If the canteen or restaurant has a noise sensitive area
above, below or adjacent to it, the facades should have
higher acoustic performance (STC ratings) to stop noise
breaking-out, ie. multi-layers of heavier Gyprock
FIG 43. TYPICAL ACOUSTIC TREATMENTS FOR

CANTEEN/RESTAURANT APPLICATIONS.
Bradford
Acoustic Wall
Absorbers
Bradford
Insulation in
partition walls
Bradford Insulation
above perforated
ceiling system
Bradford
Acousticon
under metal
deck roof
KARAOKE ROOM/NIGHTCLUB APPLICATIONS.
Bradford
Acoustic Wall
Absorbers
Bradford
Insulation in
partition walls
Bradford Insulation
above perforated
ceiling system
Karaoke rooms and nightclubs can cause disturbance
for others nearby as music sound levels inside can reach
or exceed 100dB(A). These rooms should be sound
proofed if they are likely to cause disturbance to others.
To do this, building envelopes with very high STC
ratings are required.
The following acoustic treatments are recommended.
WALLS.
Use multiple layers of CSR Gyprock Fyrchek
plasterboard to add mass and increase the STC of the

walls. (The more mass that is used, the higher the STC
rating). Ideally, the wall should have two separate studs
with Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Partition Batts
inside the cavity of the walls for an increase of up to 10
STC. If this is not possible, then staggered studs or the
widest possible stud cavity should be used (to reduce
low frequency sound transmission) and filled with
CEILING.
Ceiling should have extra mass added to increase the
STC. Multi layers of CSR Gyprock
plasterboard can be
used with Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Ceiling
Batts above. Beneath the plasterboard ceiling, a suspended
perforated metal pan ceiling can be used to provide
sound absorption in the room.
WINDOWS.
Windows should be double glazed with preferably
different size laminated glass panes (laminated glass has
better damping). Air gaps between the glass panes should
be properly sealed around the perimeter. Thicker
laminated single pane glass is the next best choice.
DOORS.
good quality acoustic door seals. An insulated sound
lock using acoustically treated doors will provide better
acoustic performance.
Note that for higher STC walls, ceilings and floors,
flanking must be considered. (Refer to Flanking Paths,
page 59).
Some Karaoke restaurants/clubs have many Karaoke
booths which require acoustic isolation from each other.
It is recommended that high STC rating walls are used
to acoustically isolate these rooms from each other. Refer
to the CSR Gyprock Fire & Acoustic Design Guide,
NGYP500 to choose a wall system.
Flanking paths should also be considered when
acoustically isolating rooms requiring high STC ratings.
Sometimes these flanking paths can be the limiting factor
in obtaining acoustic privacy from room to room.
It is advisable to engage the services of an acoustic
consultant to design sound proofing for rooms with very
high noise levels, in particular, Karaoke rooms and
nightclubs.
Products.
350, 450.
, SUPERTEL
,
ULTRATEL
.
Bradford Glasswool Absorption Blanket.
Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Panel Overlays.
.
Shopping Centres.
In shopping centres, the designers should look at
noise control in the following areas:
Between shops to provide acoustic privacy refer to
sections in this book on wall and ceiling insulation.
Reverberation control within the shopping centre
open areas (ie. stage and dining areas).
Rain noise under steel roofing install Bradford
Acousticon
hard under steel deck roofing.

Air conditioning and mechanical services noise
acoustically treat plant room, internally line and
externally lag air conditioning and air extraction ducts,
particularly where they are exposed. Plant rooms should
use high STC rating walls, ceilings and floors if next to
noise sensitive areas. Plant room walls should be lined
with Bradford Acousticlad
to absorb noise.
Carpark noise avoid steel speed humps which work
lose with time and become noisy.
Products.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool.
, ULTRATEL
.
Bradford ACOUSTICON
.
.
Music Rooms,
Recording Studios,
Radio & Television Rooms.
The optimum reverberation time required in a music
studio depends on the size of the room. Music recording
studios and radio or television broadcasting rooms require
very short reverberation times or a dead acoustic
environment. To achieve shorter reverberation times
with smaller room volumes, more sound absorption is
required.
The reverberation times for the room should be set for
each octave or more accurately each
1
/
3
octave band.
Generally for music, the lower frequencies require higher
reverberation times. For speech the reverberation time
should be approximately equal across frequency bands.
The relationship between reverberation time and sound
absorption is given by the Eyrings equation (refer to
Reverberation Control page 63).
Sound absorbers do not absorb sound equally in each
frequency band. Therefore it is common practice to use
a combination of different types of absorbers.
There are various types of sound absorbers, including:
Porous type absorbers eg. Acousticlad
, fabric faced
absorbers, perforated metal pan ceilings and moulded
foam etc.
Panel absorbers (Refer to Room Acoustics, page 64).
Cavity absorbers (Helmholtz resonators).
The above types add sound absorption inside the
room, and are required, to tune the reverberation time as
close to optimum for music or recording purposes.
It is imperative that extraneous noise does enter into
recording studios, radio or television broadcasting rooms.
Therefore it is imperative that these rooms are properly
sealed or sound proofed. Very high STC walls, doors,
windows, roof/ceilings are required.
Walls should use mutli-layers of CSR Gyprock
Fyrchek
with preferably two separate studs to support

the walls. Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool Partition
Batts should fill the cavity of the walls for an increase of
up to 10 STC.
If steel roofing is used for these rooms, insulate the roof
with Bradford ACOUSTICON
to reduce rain noise

transmission. Ceilings should also use multi layers of
CSR Gyprock
Fyrchek
resiliently mounted to the

furring channels.
Windows should be double glazed with preferably:
Different size laminated glass panes (laminated glass has
better damping).
Large air gap between the glass.
Properly sealed around the perimeter of the frame.
good quality door seals. Preferably double doors or an
insulated sound lock should be used.
Recording studios, radio and television broadcasting
rooms should also be vibration isolated from the main
building structure. This will reduce the transfer of low
frequency noise into the space which can affect the
acoustics of these rooms. Roads, railway lines, industry
etc, can be sources of low frequency noise and vibration.
It is advisable to engage the services of an acoustic
consultant to design sound proofing for TV/Radio/Music
Studios.
FIG 45.
OPTIMUM REVERBERATION TIMES FOR
MUSIC/TV/RADIO STUDIOS.
R
e
v
e
r
b
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

T
i
m
e

(
s
e
c
)
Room Volume (m
3
)
1.0
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.2
1.4
1.6
5
0
1
0
0
3
0
0
1
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
M
u
s
ic

S
t
u
d
io
T
V
/T
a
lk
S
tu
d
io
TABLE 19. RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM BACKGROUND SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL
FOR STUDIO APPLICATIONS.
Octave Band Sound Pressure Level (Hz)
31.5 63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
Studio Use Recommended Maximum Background Sound Levels [dB]
Drama and Music Studios 65 47 37 29 24 20 17 15 13
Television and Talk Studios 70 52 42 34 29 25 22 20 18
Products.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool.
or ULTRATEL
.
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
.
Heavy duty perforated THERMOFOIL
.
OEM.
CSR Bradford Insulation supplies the full range of
glasswool and rockwool products to original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).
Bradford insulation is used for acoustic or thermal
purposes, and adds value to OEMs products. Glasswool
can be used for the following requirements:
Thermal.
Acoustic.
Fire resistance.
CSR Bradford Insulation supplies many OEMs, and
each has unique requirements for rockwool and glasswool
insulation products.
OEMs should contact the CSR Bradford Insulation
Office in their region to discuss their specific
requirements.
Products.
Bradford Rockwool.
Bradford Glasswool.
References.
1 Sound Research Laboratories, Noise Control in Building
Services, Pergamon Press, First Edition 1988.
2 Bruel & Kjaer, Noise Control, Principles & Practice,
Naerum Offset, Second Edition, 1986.
3 D.A Bies & Hansen, Engineering Noise Control, E
& FN Spon, Second Edition, 1996.
4 L.L Beranek, Noise And Vibration Control, Institute
of Noise Control, Revised Edition, 1988.
Products.
, SUPERTEL
,
ULTRATEL
.
Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool.
.
Heavy Plant.
Engine compartments of plant and machinery should
be lined with Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool faced
with Bradford Heavy Duty 750P THERMOFOIL
Perforated to absorb engine and ancillary noise. As engine

noise has most energy at low frequencies, insulation
thickness should be at least 75mm. The thicker the
insulation, the better the low frequency sound absorption.
Lightweight sheet steel casings can often vibrate and
emit noise. To damp these casings, Bradford
ACOUSTILAG
can be used. The glasswool side of the

Acoustilag should be secured firmly to the outside of the
sheet steel to increase the panels mass. The mass of the
loaded vinyl, damps the vibrating panel, and reduces noise.
Operators cabins should also be fully enclosed and well
sealed to stop noise from entering. Dust inside an operator
cabin is a good indication the cabin is poorly sealed.
Cabins should also be vibration isolated for operator
comfort and safety, and also to minimise re-radiated noise
from lightweight materials. The cabin can be lined with
rockwool or glasswool insulation with a suitable facing
such as perforated THERMOFOIL
to absorb noise
within the cabin.
TV/RADIO/MUSIC STUDIO APPLICATIONS.
Bradford Insulation
in high STC partition
walls
Bradford Acoustic
Absorbers to control
reverberation
Bradford Insulation
treatment to air
conditioning ducts
Introduction.
For most of us, sound is simply something we hear.
It is the sensation which results from vibrations in the air
interacting with the hearing mechanism of our ears.
Noise is by definition, unwanted sound. It may be
unwanted because it is damaging, dangerous, annoying,
or detracts from wanted sounds.
Sound is also used as a general term to describe the
vibrations or pressure variations which give rise to the
sound we hear. Throughout this guide, sound will be
used in the general sense.
Sound moves through the air as a longitudinal pressure
wave. These waves are caused either by vibrating surfaces
or fluctuations in air flow. The process may be illustrated
by considering what happens when we listen to sound
from a radio, TV set, or public address system.
The loudspeaker is made to vibrate by an electrical
signal. This causes a sympathetic vibration in the air as
shown in Figure A1. When the air borne vibration
reaches the ear drum, the reverse process applies, causing
the ear drum to vibrate, stimulating the hearing system.
Sound flow is described as a wave, because it is the
vibration that moves through the air. Individual air
particles only vibrate on the spot with no net movement.
This is similar to what happens when a stone is thrown
into a pool of water. Ripples move outwards through the
water, but individual particles of water only move up and
down as the ripples pass. This is evidenced by observing
any objects floating on the pool surface, and noting that
they remain stationary. Sound waves are said to be
longitudinal because the movement of air particles is in
the same plane as the direction of flow as shown in
Figure A2(a). This is different from water waves, where
the movement of water particles is perpendicular to the
direction of flow as shown in Figure A2(b). Water waves
are known as transverse waves.
The basic characteristics of sound are discussed below.
Frequency.
Frequency is the rate of vibration. It has the units of
Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second where a cycle is one
complete vibration to and fro. The range of human
hearing - the so-called audible range - extends from 20
to 20,000Hz (20kHz). In practice, few adults can hear
sounds with frequencies above 15kHz, and frequencies
above 10kHz are rarely significant for sound control
purposes.
Sound waves are not limited only to the audible range.
Higher frequency sound -ultrasound- (greater than
20kHz) has many applications in medicine and industry,
while lower frequency sound infrasound (lower than
20Hz) appears as undesirable structural vibrations.
With the exception of musical notes, sounds consisting
of only one frequency are extremely rare. Most of the
sounds encountered in everyday life are a complex
combination of many frequencies. It is totally impractical
to characterise a complex sound by all its frequencies, so
the concept of frequency bands is introduced. The most
common of these is the octave band, which has its upper
frequency band exactly double the lower band.
Direction of wave travel
Direction of wave travel
Vibration of particles
Vibration of particles
(a) Longitudinal Wave
(b) Transverse Wave
FIG A2.
TYPES OF TRAVELLING WAVES.
Air moves towards
load speaker as cone
moves backwards.
Air pushed away from
loudspeaker as cone
moves forwards.
FIG A1.
VIBRATION CREATES SOUND WAVES.
The Nature of Sound.
APPENDIX A.
All frequencies between these bands are then grouped
together into the octave band. An octave band is described
by its centre frequency which is the geometric mean of
the upper and lower bands. The octave bands used for
sound measurement are listed in Table A1.
TABLE A1.
STANDARD FREQUENCY BANDS.
Energy, Power
and Intensity.
Sound waves transmit energy from a source to a
receiver, e.g. from a loudspeaker to a listeners ear. In some
cases this is desirable, e.g. Iistening to music. In others,
the emission of sound energy indicates inefficient machine
operation, and is harmful or annoying to exposed people.
The rate at which a sound source emits energy is
called its sound power, measured in Watts (W). The
sound power range is extremely large, ranging from
about 1 nanowatt (1 x 10
-9
W or 0.000000001 W) for
rustling leaves to well over 1 megawatt (10
6
W or
1,000,000 W) for violent explosions.
This range of over 10
15
W is difficult to handle, so a
more suitable scale has been devised. This scale is the
Sound Power Level scale which measures sound power
logarithmically. This is especially appropriate, as the
human ear responds to ratio changes in sound power,
rather than to magnitude changes. To the ear, a change
from 10 Watts to 1 Watt is equivalent to a change from
1 Watt to 0.1 Watt.
The Sound Power Level is generally denoted Lw.
Abbreviations such as SWL or PWL are also used. It is
defined as:
Equation N1
=
and expressed in decibels (dB)
A Sound Power of 10 Watts therefore has a sound
power level of:
=
= 10 log 10
13
= 130dB
Similarly, a sound power of 1 Watt corresponds to a
sound power level of 120dB, and a sound power of 1
milliwatt corresponds to a sound power level of 90dB.
Intensity is a measure of sound power flow per unit
area and is expressed in units of Watts per square metre
(W/m
2
). It is sound intensity at the ear which determines
how loud a particular noise seems the greater the
intensity, the louder the noise heard.
Sound Pressure.
Sound intensity cannot be directly measured.
However, sound intensity is related to sound pressure
(which is easily measured) according to Equation N2.
Equation N2
Where:
I = Intensity.
p = Pressure due to sound wave.
z = c = Acoustic impedance of air.
= Density of air.
c = Speed of sound (344 m/s).
The sound pressure can be measured using a
microphone which converts the pressure wave to an
electrical signal that can be easily measured with a
galvanometer. Instruments are built specially for this
purpose and are known as Sound Level Meters.
p
2
z
I =
10
1 x 10
-12
W
10 log
10
L
w
Sound power source (W)
Reference power (1 x 10
-12
W)
10 log
10
L
w
Band Limit
Frequency
(Hz)
44
57
71
88
113
141
176
225
283
353
440
565
707
880
1130
1414
1760
2250
2825
3530
4400
5650
7070
8800
11300
1/3 Octave
Centre Frequency
(Hz)
50
63
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
4000
5000
6300
8000
10000
Octave Band
Centre Frequency
(Hz)
63
125
250
500
1000
2000
4000
8000
Like sound power, sound pressure is expressed on a
logarithmic scale known as the Sound pressure level,
generally denoted L
p
. Sometimes the abbreviation SPL is
also used. Sound Pressure Level is defined as:
Equation N3
and, like sound power level, is expressed in decibels (dB).
The reference sound pressure of 2x10
-5
Pa represents
the threshold of hearing. Thus a sound pressure level of
0dB indicates the quietest sound likely to be detected by
young, healthy ears. At the other end of the scale, a
sound pressure level of 130dB (a sound pressure of 63 Pa)
represents the threshold of pain. Some typical sound
pressure levels are shown in Table 2.
TABLE A2.
TYPICAL SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS.
Noise Source Sound Pressure
Level (dB re 20 Pa)
Near Air Force Jet at take off 140
(Threshold of pain) 130
Pneumatic chisel 120
Angle grinding metal 110
Electric train crossing bridge 100
Petrol lawn mower 90
Average road traffic 80
Ringing telephone 70
Conversational speech 60
Analytical laboratory 50
Professional office 40
Residential area at night 30
Rustle of leaves 20
Breathing 10
(Threshold of hearing) 0
The sound pressure level then is used as the basic
measure of quantity of sound. Levels can be measured
right across the whole audible frequency range or in
discrete octave or third-octave bands. Weighted sound
pressure levels may also be measured, of which the most
common is the A weighted sound pressure level. A
weighting adjusts the sound pressure to allow for the
frequency response of the human ear. The ear is less
sensitive to lower frequencies than to frequencies in the
middle to high range. A weighting therefore decreases
the level of low frequency sounds relative to middle and
20 log sound pressure (measured in Pa)
Reference sound pressure (2 x 10
-5
Pa)
L
p =
high frequency sounds. Sound pressure levels measured
with an A weighting network are expressed in
A weighted decibels or dB(A). Because the A
weighted sound pressure levels takes account of the ears
sensitivity to sound, most noise control legislation is
written in terms of dB(A) levels.
Where noise levels fluctuate markedly with time (such
as stamping machines, traffic on a busy roadway, etc.) it
is now common to measure an equivalent continuous
sound pressure level, denoted L
eq
. This is the sound
pressure level of a steady sound which, over a given time
period, would have conveyed the same acoustic energy
as did the time-varying sound. Many sound level meters
are able to automatically measure equivalent sound
pressure level.
Other measures of sound level that are applicable to
long-term variable noise (such as motor traffic) are
denoted L
x
where x is a number between 1 and 100.
This is the sound pressure level which is exceeded for
x% of the time. The L
1
, L
10
, L
50
and L
90
levels are the
most commonly encountered. These statistical levels can
be measured with more sophisticated portable sound
level meters. Alternatively, statistical analysis or graphical
techniques can be used to determine the statistical levels.
Addition of Decibels.
As the decibel scale is logarithmic, two noise levels L
p1
and L
p2
values cannot be added in the same way as
ordinary numbers. Consider for example, the sound
power level of two machines, each with a sound power
level of 120dB. From Equation N1 it can be calculated
that the actual sound power of each source is 1 Watt. Thus
their combined power will be 2 Watts which, according
to Equation N1, corresponds to 123dB. Doubling the
sound power results in an increase of 3dB in the sound
power level.
Adding a third machine of the same power would
increase the total sound power to 3 Watts, which gives a
sound power level of 125dB, while a fourth machine
bringing the total sound power to 4 Watts would increase
the sound power level to 126dB. Note again that doubling
the sound power from 2 Watts to 4 Watts also increased
the sound power level by 3dB (123dB to 126dB).
This may seem complicated but there is a simple rule
of thumb which is sufficiently accurate for all practical
purposes:
Difference between Add to higher
noise levels level (dB)
0 or 1 3
2 or 3 2
4 to 9 1
10 or more 0
For the example above,
120dB + 120dB 0dB difference
Add 3dB to 120dB = 123dB
Behaviour of Sound.
Sound from a theoretical point source will radiate
equally in all directions. As a result, the sound intensity will
be inversely proportional to the square of the distance from
the source. This means the sound pressure level will
reduce by 6dB for each doubling of distance from the
source. This generally applies outdoors in the free field.
Thus, if L
p
= 80dB at 4 metres from the source, it will be
74dB at 8 metres, 68dB at 16 metres, 62dB at 32 metres,
as shown in Figure A2.
This assumes that there is no interference with the
sound flow such as buildings etc, and the further one gets
from the source the more likely it is that some interference
will occur.
The most common interference is provided by a solid
boundary. Sound striking a solid boundary may be either
transmitted, reflected, or absorbed, as shown in Figure A3.
Sound Transmission.
Sound striking a solid surface can cause the surface to
vibrate, just as the ear drum vibrates when it is met by a
sound wave. This vibration which is of the same
frequency as the sound wave may set up another air-borne
sound wave on the other side of the solid.
The ability of a solid structure to resist sound
transmission is called acoustic insulation. This is
analogous to thermal insulation being the ability of a
material to resist heat flow and electrical insulation being
the ability to resist the flow of electricity. It is important
to note that the mechanism involved in resisting these
various flows is not universal.
The fact that a material is a good thermal insulation
does not indicate whether it is of any use as an electrical
or acoustic insulator.
Acoustic insulation is expressed as the difference in
decibels between the sound pressure levels on the source
and receiving sides of the structure. When discussing
the performance of building elements, acoustic insulation
is referred to in terms of sound transmission loss (STL)
or sound reduction index.
For all practical building elements, the sound
transmission loss varies with frequency (Figure A5). There
are essentially three modes:
1. At very low frequencies the sound reduction depends
on the stiffness of the partition and natural resonances
in the structure. The stiffer the panel, the more
resistant it is to bending. As the frequency increases,
the stiffness effect diminishes and the onset of
resonances occur in the panel which lowers the
acoustic performance of the panel.
80dB @4m
74dB @8m
68dB @16m
FIG A2.
SOUND RADIATION FROM POINT SOURCE.
R
e
f
le
c
t
e
d

S
o
u
n
d
T
r
a
n
s
m
it
t
e
d

S
o
u
n
d
R
e
f
le
c
t
e
d

S
o
u
n
d
T
r
a
n
s
m
it
t
e
d

S
o
u
n
d
Absorbed
Sound
Incident Sound
FIG A3.
BEHAVIOUR AT SOLID BOUNDARIES.
2. At mid frequencies sound reduction increases by
approximately 6dB for each doubling of frequency
(6dB per octave) or mass per unit area.
3. At high frequencies sound transmission is influenced
by the coincidence dip, which is a form of coupling
between the sound waves in the air and the bending
waves in the panel, resulting in efficient transfer of
sound energy. The coincidence effect is a form of
resonance which occurs at the critical frequency and
tends to reduce the acoustic performance of the
building element.
The frequency at which this coincidence occurs is
called the critical frequency, and is a function of the
particular materials used in the partition.
Sound transmission loss depends heavily on the surface
density (mass per square metre of surface) of a building
element. For every doubling of surface density the sound
transmission loss increases by about 5.6dB. This is known
as the Mass Law and is shown graphically in Figure A5.
Higher transmission losses than those expected by
the Mass Law can be obtained by using double-leaf
structures, such as stud walls. Further improvement can
be achieved by using wide cavities, which is not always
practical. Significant transmission loss gains are obtained
by using insulation such as Bradford Rockwool or
Glasswool in the cavity.
The sound transmission loss of a building element may
be expressed as the decibel reduction in sound pressure
level measured at the standard one-third (1/3) octave
frequency bands.
A more convenient means of expressing sound
transmission loss is by use of a single number acoustic
rating called Sound Transmission Class (STC). This
rating system is described in detail in AS1276-1979:
Methods for Determination of Sound Transmission Class
and Noise Isolation Class of Building Partitions. The
recently released AS/NZS1276.1:1999 Acoustics -
Rating of Sound Insulation in Buildings and of Building
Elements, Part 1-1999 Airborne Sound Insulation refers
to Weighted Sound Reduction Index (R
w
) instead of the
commonly used STC.
STC is der ived from sound transmission loss
measurements over 16 test frequency bands between
125Hz and 4000Hz. R
w
is calculated from frequencies
ranging from 100Hz to 3150Hz. R
w
is considered
numerically equivalent to STC, but can vary by about 1
point.
A noise reduction of 1dB (decibel) is approximately
equal to a 1 STC or 1 R
w
. Note this does not apply to
lower frequency sound sources. The higher the STC or
R
w
of a partition the more effective it will be at reducing
sound transmission
A reduction of 3dB in noise level is a noticeable
improvement, and a 10dB reduction in noise level is
perceived as being half as loud.
Some STC examples are given below.
2 layers 16mm Gyprock each
side of 64 mm steel studs STC = 47
As above + 75mm GW batts STC = 57
Double Brick Wall 250 mm STC = 54
Brick Wall single layer 110mm STC = 44
Sheet steel 0.8mm thick STC = 27
Aluminium window 5 mm glass STC = 22
A
v
e
r
a
g
e

S
o
u
n
d

T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
Surface Density (kg/m
2
)
1 2 3 4 5 7 10
2
0
2
0
4
0
5
0
7
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
3
0
0
4
0
0
5
0
0
7
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
FIG A5.
THE MASS LAW OF SOUND INSULATION.
Frequency Hz
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

L
o
s
s
Stiffness
controlled
6dB per octave
Mass
controlled
Coincidence
Dip
Critical
frequency
Resonances
FIG A4.
TYPICAL SOUND TRANSMISSION LOSS
CHARACTERISTIC FOR BUILDING PARTITIONS.
Flanking Paths.
Noise will always take the easiest path around a barrier
under question. This is known as flanking. Consider
noise to be like a liquid that can pass through small
openings. Flanking can severely reduce the theoretical
sound transmission loss of a building element.
Air borne sound control is limited by flanking
transmission paths which permit sound to bypass the
barrier. Some of the more common flanking transmission
paths are shown in Figure A6.
As the required performance of the wall or ceiling
system increases eg. for systems over STC 45, attention
to sealing of gaps to stop noise leaks is critical. Even
very small gaps will derate performance significantly.
Flanking can be a limiting factor in achieving the higher
STC ratings for building elements in the field, especially
for STC ratings greater than 55.
STC ratings measured in the laboratory are usually
higher than what is achieved in the field. Designers and
specifiers of building facades need to be aware that in the
field, flanking of noise at doors, windows, ventilation
ducting, air gaps at ceiling, wall and floor intersections,
and poor workmanship may result in lower acoustic STC
performance. For these reasons CSR Bradford Insulation
cannot guarantee the field STC ratings of specific
construction shown in this Acoustic Design Guide and
other CSR Bradford Insulation brochures.
Maximum sound transmission loss can be achieved by
eliminating penetrations in walls, caulking gaps, and
staggering electrical outlet or other necessary penetrations
through the wall. For optimum acoustic performance,
wall cavities should be filled with either rockwool or
glasswool insulation. Pipes, conduits and other outlets
should have insulation tightly fitted around them.
Sound Reflection.
Sound may also be reflected from a solid surface in
much the same way as a ball bounces from a wall.
Reflected sound will increase the sound level on the
source side of the solid. The most common example of
this is a noise source such as a machine located above a
hard concrete floor. Sound will radiate equally in all
directions from the machine. However, sound travelling
downwards will strike the floor and be reflected upwards
as shown in Figure A7. The sound level above the floor
will be the sum of both the direct sound and the reflected
sound.
Sound Absorption.
Sound may also be absorbed by the solid. The acoustic
energy is converted to heat energy as a result of frictional
forces within the solid. Large amounts of sound may be
absorbed with little effect on the temperature of the
absorbing material.
Most hard solid surfaces are highly sound reflective.
Open cell or porous materials are the most effective
sound absorbers. The long, narrow, twisting air paths give
rise to considerable friction between vibrating air particles
and the fibres or cell walls. The friction converts much
of the sound energy into heat and the process is referred
to as sound absorption.
Increasing the thickness or density of a porous material
will increase its sound absorption. Increasing the thickness
is the most effective method of increasing the sound
absorption of a material, particularly at the lower
frequencies.
A materials ability to absorb sound is expressed by its
sound absorption coefficient, which is sometimes denoted
by and defined as:
1
( )
The sound absorption coefficient is reported as a
decimal, e.g. = 0.75 would mean that 75% of the
incident sound energy was absorbed while 25% was
reflected.
A more convenient method of describing sound
absorption is to use the single number NRC (Noise
Reduction Coefficient). NRC is the arithmetic average
of the sound absorption coefficients at the four frequency
of 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz and 2000Hz. NRC is usually
rounded to the nearest 0.05 as per Australian Standard
AS1045 : 1988 Acoustics - Measurement of Sound
Absorption in a Reverberation Room.
Sound energy reflected from surface
Sound energy incident on surface
=
FIG A6.
COMMON FLANKING TRANSMISSIONS PATH.
1. Ceiling plenums, floors, walls.
2. Poor seals between structural
elements and around service
penetrations.
3. External air-borne paths.
4. Heating and ventilation ducting.
5. Rigid plumbing connections and
penetrations.
6. Back-to-back cabinets and
switches/power outlets.
For many porous absorbers such as rockwool and
glasswool, sound absorption coefficients or NRCs are
commonly greater than 1.00. For example:
75mm thick Bradford Glasswool Supertel
(32kg/m
3
) NRC = 1.09
50mm thick Bradford Fibertex
350 Rockwool
(60kg/m
3
) NRC = 1.05
Although it is theoretically impossible to have sound
absorption coefficients greater than 1, as this would mean
that more sound is absorbed by the material than is
incident on it, NRCs greater than 1 do occur in
laboratory testing as a result of the measuring techniques
and the sound field within the testing facility.
Sound absorption coefficients are measured on a linear
scale and so do not relate directly to decibels. The effect
of sound absorption on sound pressure level is discussed
under Reverberation Control.
Sound absorption materials do not absorb equal
amounts of sound in all frequencies. Thus it is necessary
to determine the sound absorption coefficient for each
octave band, or more preferably for each one third octave
band. The sound absorption coefficients of some typical
building materials are listed in Table A3.
Sound absorption coefficients may be determined in
an acoustic laboratory by two different methods. The
simplest of these uses a device called an impedance tube
and its use is covered by AS/NZS1935 Acoustics
Determination of Sound Absorption Coefficient and
Impedance in Impedance Tubes. A more involved
method uses a specifically constructed room known as a
reverberation room. This method is set down in AS1045
: 1988 Acoustics Measurement Of Sound Absorption
Coefficients In A Reverberation Room.
The impedance tube method being simpler, and
therefore cheaper, has been f avoured by some
manufacturers of acoustic products. It has a major
limitation however in that it only allows for normal
incidence of sound as shown in Figure A8(a). In practice,
sound will impinge on the sound absorbent material
from all directions.
TABLE A3. TYPICAL VALUES OF SOUND ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS.
Typical Building Materials Frequency (Hz)
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 NRC
Reflective Sound Absorption Coefficients ()
Terrazzo Flooring on concrete 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Concrete 100mm 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.02
Exposed Brick 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05
Fibrous Cement 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.08 0.04 0.06 0.05
Timber Floor 0.15 0.12 0.11 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.10
Plasterboard 0.30 0.20 0.15 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.10
Glass window 4mm 0.30 0.25 0.18 0.12 0.07 0.05 0.15
Hardboard 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.10 0.10 0.15
Suspended Plasterboard Ceiling 0.20 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.05 0.15
Aerated lightweight concrete 0.01 0.15 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20
Absorptive
Thick Pile Carpet 0.15 0.25 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.70 0.50
Open Cell Polyurethane Foam 25mm 0.10 0.25 0.55 0.70 0.75 0.85 0.55
Polyester 25mm 0.10 0.25 0.55 0.60 0.75 0.75 0.55
Perforated Metal Pan Ceiling with Glasswool backing 0.30 0.65 0.55 0.65 0.70 0.60 0.65
Bradford Flexitel
Glasswool 25mm 0.10 0.33 0.66 0.90 1.03 0.79 0.75

Bradford Supertel
Glasswool 50mm 0.25 0.66 1.01 1.04 1.10 1.13 0.95

Bradford 50mm Fibertex
350 Rockwool 0.21 0.69 1.13 1.15 1.16 1.18 1.05

Refer to Appendix C for Sound Absorption Coefficients of Bradford Insulation products.
The reverberation room allows for this random
incidence as shown in Figure A8(b). For some applications
such as ceilings and air conditioning ducts or glazing,
gl ancing incidence as shown in Figure A8(c)
predominates. As can easily be seen, data obtained by
using normal sound incidence will be totally inappropriate
for evaluating performance in glancing incidence
situations.
It is important therefore to check by which method,
published sound absorption coefficients have been
determined. All leading Australian manufacturers publish
data measured in accordance with AS1045-1988
Acoustics Measurements of Sound Absorption in a
Reverberation Room. Some imported products may
claim performance on the basis of overseas standards.
Such performance data is not necessarily in accordance
with the Australian standard.
Sound absorption coefficients may also be calculated
empirically from the flow resistivity of porous or fibrous
absorbers. The flow resistivity is usually measured by an
American Standard test method, ASTM C522-73, as
there is no Australian Standard for this test.
The use of flow resistivity data enables prediction of the
sound absorption coefficients for composite materials and
thus minimises the number of laboratory tests required. As
with all empirical calculations, predictions should be
compared to actual test data to ensure the validity of the
calculations.
Fibrous materials such as Bradford Rockwool and
Glasswool are extremely efficient absorbers of sound at
mid to high frequencies. Low frequency absorption is
influenced by the thickness of the material. The sound
absorption coefficients of Bradford Rockwool and
Glasswool products are shown in Appendix C of this
guide.
Further improvement in low frequency sound absorption
may be achieved by using Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool
thicknesses greater than 50mm or by using an air space
behind. For optimum acoustic absorption particularly at low
frequencies, the air space should be at least as thick as the
rockwool or glasswool insulation.
The sound absorption for a surface is the product of
the sound absorption coefficient and the area of the
surface. The unit is the Sabin, where 1 Sabin is the
amount of absorption provided by 1 square metre of
surface with an absorption coefficient of 1. There is a
trend to replace the Sabin with equivalent absorption
area. The calculation is still the same, however units of
square metres are used.
Reverberation.
When sound is produced within an enclosed space
such as a room, the first sound which a listener hears is
that which arrives directly from the source. The next
sound to be heard will be that which has been reflected
from one wall of the enclosure. After this, sound which
has been reflected from two, three, or more surfaces will
successively arrive.
These multiple reflected or reverberant sounds
combine with each other and the direct sound to form
the resulting sound field as shown in Figure A9. Not only
does the reverberant sound increase the level of sound, it
also increases its duration. This causes distortion of the
sound with particularly detrimental effects on speech
and music. When long delays occur between the arrival
of direct and reflected sound, distinct echoes can be
heard.
Sound can take 2 paths in a room: the direct sound and
the reflected sound. The total sound level is the sum of
the direct and reflected sounds. The reflected sound will
lose energy when striking the boundaries of the room.
Some of this reflected sound will be transmitted and
some absorbed, so that the amount of sound reflected will
be less than that striking the boundary.
For a continuous noise source, a steady-state situation
will develop where the rate of sound energy entering the
room from the noise source will be balanced by the rate
of sound energy leaving the room by transmission and
absorption.
Sound
Source
Direct Sound
R
e
fle
c
te
d
S
o
u
n
d
FIG A7.
DIRECT AND REFLECTED SOUND.
FIG A8.
TYPES OF SOUND INCIDENCE.
(a) (b) (c)
Normal
Incidence
Random
Incidence
Glancing
Incidence
REVERBERATION TIME.
Reverberation Time (RT) is the time it takes a sound
to travel from its source to and from reflecting surfaces and
gradually become inaudible. More technically speaking,
RT
60
is the time taken for the reverberant sound pressure
level to decrease by 60dB after the direct sound has
ceased.
The reverberation time of any room depends primarily
upon the degree of sound reflection from the room
boundaries and objects within the room. The more
reflective surfaces in the room, the longer will be the
reverberation time. Room dimensions also have an effect.
As sound levels fall due to absorption and transmission
at solid boundaries, it follows that where sound has to
travel further between reflections (ie larger rooms), it
will take longer for the sound pressure level to fall,
resulting in longer reverberation times.
Rooms used for different purposes need different
reverberation times. Churches, concert halls and music
studios may require reverberation times of up to 2 or 3
seconds, while for broadcasting studios and open plan
offices appropriate reverberation times may be below
0.5 seconds.
Reverberation time affects both the room acoustics
and the noise level. Short reverberation times result in
lower noise levels and what is commonly called dead
acoustics, while long reverberation times result in higher
noise level, or live acoustics. For everyday purposes,
reverberation time criteria can be classified as shown in
Table A4. The optimum reverberation time depends
upon the intended use of the room.
TABLE A4.
OPTIMUM REVERBERATION TIMES.
Room Reverberation Typical Example
Acoustics Time (sec)
Dead 0.6 Hotel and airport lounges,
Surgeries and consulting
Rooms, Kindergarten.
Medium Dead 0.6 - 0.9 Classrooms, Restaurant,
Large open-plan offices.
Medium 0.9 - 1.1 Lecture rooms, General
Offices, Hospital Wards.
Medium Live 1.1 - 1.4 Board Rooms,
Conference Rooms,
Assembly Halls.
Live 1.4 Music Rooms,
Concert Halls.
Figure A10 from Australian Standard AS2107 : 1987
shows optimum reverberation times for various rooms.
Reverberation times are usually quoted for frequency of
500Hz or 1kHz. Ideally, the reverberation time at higher
frequencies should be the same as that at 500Hz, but in
practice some reduction in reverberation time at
frequencies above 2000Hz is almost inevitable. For good
music listening condition the reverberations time at
frequencies below 500Hz should increase while for speech
there should be little deviation from the value at 500Hz.
REVERBERATION CONTROL.
Increasing the amount of sound absorption within a
room reduces both the reverberant sound pressure level
and the reverberation time.
The effect on reverberant sound pressure level is a 3dB
reduction for each doubling of absorption. Thus, in a
highly reflective room the addition of small amounts of
sound absorbing materials will have a marked effect on
the sound pressure level, while in a highly absorptive
room the addition of large amounts of sound absorbing
materials may have little effect.
Reverberation control as a means of noise control is
limited by two factors. Firstly, it is not possible to reduce
the total sound pressure level below that due to direct air
borne sound transmission from source to receiver.
Secondly, very large amounts of sound absorption may
make the room unacceptably dead by reducing the
reverberation time too much.
The reverberation time depends on the room volume
and the total sound absorption present in the room. It may
be calculated by:
Direct Sound = Reflected Sound =
Sound
Source
FIG A9.
DEVELOPMENT OF REVERBERANT SOUND.
M
i
d
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y

R
e
v
e
r
b
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

T
i
m
e

(
s
e
c
)
Room Volume (m
3
)
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.7
0
50 100 500 1000 10000 100000
C
h
u
r
c
h
e
s
M
u
s
i
c

S
t
u
d
i
o
s

a
n
d

C
o
n
c
e
r
t

H
a
l
l
s
O
p
e
r
a

H
o
u
s
e
s
S
p
e
e
c
h
A
u
d
ito
r
iu
m
s
V
a
r
i
e
t
y

E
n
t
e
r
t
a
i
n
m
e
n
t

T
h
e
a
t
r
e
s
S
peech S
tudios
F
ilm
a
n
d
T
V
S
tu
d
io
s
FIG A10. MEAN REVERBERATION TIMES (FROM AS2107 : 1987).
Equation N5
Where:
T = reverberation time (sec)
V = room volume (m
3
)
A = S total absorption (Sabins)
Where:
S = room surface area (m
2
)
= average sound absorption coefficient
for room surfaces
0.162 V
A
T =
Note: Equation N5 shows that doubling the
amount of absorption in the room halves the
reverberation time.
For highly sound absorbent rooms such as recording
studios, the reverberation time is more correctly calculated
by:
Equation N6
The use of CSR Bradford Rockwool or Glasswool
insulation is the most effective means of absorbing sound
and reducing overall sound levels in enclosed areas.
0.162 V
S ln (1 )
T =
Room Acoustics.
While legislation sets noise limits for industrial exposure, it is
left to the architect or consultant to set appropriate noise levels
for rooms. The Standards Association of Australia provides a
comprehensive list of recommendations in AS2107 : 1987
Acoustics - Recommended Design Sound Levels and
Reverberation Times for Building Interiors. A guide to suitable
background sound levels is given in Table A5.
TABLE A5.
RECOMMEND MAXIMUM
BACKGROUND NOISE LEVELS.
Type of Activity Recommended Ambient
Sound Level dB(A)
Board and conference rooms 30-35
Computer rooms 45-55
General office areas 40-45
Private offices 35-40
Small retail stores 45-50
Supermarkets 50-55
Hotel lounges 45-55
Libraries - reading areas 40-45
Restaurants 40-45
Airport lounges 45-60
Places of worship 30-35
Court rooms 25-30
Surgery and consulting rooms 40-45
Hospital wards 30-40
Classrooms 35-40
Laboratories - Teaching 35-40
Laboratories - Working 40-50
Lecture theatres - up to 250 seats 30-35
Lecture theatres - more than 250 seats 25-30
Bowling alleys 50-55
Squash courts 50-55
REVERBERATION CONTROL
IN BUILDINGS.
Hard surfaces are excellent reflectors of sound which
magnifies the effect of the initial noise source.
Where the overall noise level depends mainly on a
build-up of reflected sound within the room, a significant
reduction in noise level may be achieved by increasing the
total sound absorption in the room. This may be achieved
most simply by using absorptive rather than reflective
materials at room boundaries.
Increasing the sound absorption within a room will
also reduce its reverberation time. In most cases this will
be desirable as a high level of reflected noise generally
indicates excessive reverberation time. The reverberation
time should not be shortened too much as it would
make the room unnaturally dead for the purpose for
which it is used. However if the space contains unwanted
noise, maximum absorption is desirable.
Absorbing or controlling noise within a space can be done
using materials called sound absorbers which can be
grouped into 3 categories; porous or dissipative absorbers,
membrane or panel absorbers and cavity absorbers (see
Figure A11).
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
Frequency (Hz)
S
o
u
n
d

A
b
s
o
r
p
t
i
o
n

C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

(
)
Cavity
Absorber
Dissipative
Absorber
Membrane
Absorber
FIG A11.
SOUND ABSORPTION OF DIFFERENT
TYPES OF ABSORBERS.
POROUS OR DISSIPATIVE ABSORBERS.
Porous or dissipative absorbers, (eg. rockwool or glasswool
insulation) which work by converting sound energy from
the moving air particles into heat through friction. This
occurs in the materials many tiny narrow fibrous airways.
The thicker and denser the porous absorber is, the better
the sound absorption. (Refer to Figure A12). Porous
absorbers are often faced for support and/or decorated
with:
Perforated facings - foil, metals (such as Bradford
Acousticlad), timber or plasterboard.
Bradford Ultraphon
,
Black tissue facing,
Thin polyester film or
Fabrics.
MEMBRANE OR PANEL ABSORBERS.
Sound is transferred into vibrational energy in the face
of the panel with maximum absorption occurring at the
resonant frequency of the panel (see Figure A13). The
resonant frequency is affected by surface density of the
panel, the size and stiffness of the airspace behind the
panel and the spacing of the panel supports.
As the airspace or mass of the panel are increased, the
frequency of maximum absorption, (ie. the resonant
frequency) decreases. Adding rockwool or glasswool
insulation in the air cavity of panel absorbers, increase
their absorptive frequency range. Typical examples are
solid, reflective panels (timber, plasterboard etc.) panel on
studwork, lightweight partitions on studwork, suspended
ceilings and windows.
Bradford Glasswool or
Fibertex Rockwool
Wall
Timber
Framing
Gyprock plasterboard,
perforated hardboard,
expanded metal or
Bradford Thermofoil HD
Perforated
Airspace should be at least
the thickness of the cavity
insulation
Chicken
Wire
FIG A13. BROAD-BAND SOUND ABSORBER.
Plan View.
Bradford Glasswool
Building Blanket or
Fibertex Rockwool
Wall
Timber
Batten
Timber Panelling
FIG A14. TIMBER PANELLING FOR
LOW FREQUENCY ABSORPTION.
Plan View.
CAVITY ABSORBERS.
Cavity absorbers are usually an enclosed volume of air
with a small neck opening. The moving air particles
produce a type of pumping action in the neck of the
cavity, converting the sound energy into heat. Most
common type of cavity absorber is a Helmholtz resonator.
Cavity absorbers provide a very narrow band of sound
absorption, which can be expanded with the use of
rockwool or glasswool insulation in the enclosed space.
These absorbers have specialised acoustic applications
such as studios and auditoria and for pure tone absorption.
The excellent sound absorbing properties of Bradford
Rockwool and Glasswool can be used to great advantage
in reverberation control.
REVERBERATION CONTROL
IN BUILDINGS.
Some typical examples include:
UNDER-ROOF.
Where condensation protection is required, install
Bradford Anticon
or Acousticon
with foil facing under

the steel roof.
For better acoustic absorption, install 50mm to
100mm Bradford Fibertex
Rockwool or Bradford
Glasswool (Flexitel
, Supertel
or Ultratel
) blanket
faced with CSR Bradford Thermoplast
980 perforated
foil. This is an effective way to add significant sound
absorptive insulation.
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0
20
40
60
80
100
R
a
n
d
o
m

I
n
c
i
d
e
n
c
e

A
b
s
o
r
p
t
i
o
n

C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

(
x
)
5
0
m
m

T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s
2
5
m
m

T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s
1
2
m
m

T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s
6
m
m

T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s
A
b
s
o
r
p
t
i
o
n

(
%
)
Freqencey (Hz)
FIG A12.
POROUS ABSORBERS EFFECT OF THICKNESS.
CEILINGS.
The use of black-faced Bradford Glasswool Blanket as
an acoustic overlay for slatted timber, metal strip, and
perforated metal pan ceilings is illustrated in Figure A15.
The non-reflective black finish significantly enhances
the appearance of these ceilings while the glasswool
absorbs noise that would otherwise be reflected back
into the room.
An alternative approach is to use a fully exposed metal
suspension grid to support the ceiling which also achieves
an air gap behind the batts to boost low frequency sound
absorption.
FIG A17.
ABSORPTIVE WALL PANELLING RIGID BOARD
WITH DECORATIVE FACING.
FIG A15.
ABSORPTIVE WALL TREATMENT IN SCHOOL HALL.
Black Matt Faced FIBERTEX
Retained Behind Spaced Timber Strips.

SUSPENDED BAFFLES.
An alternative treatment which maximises absorptive
area is to install Bradford Rockwool Acoustic Baffles.
Baffles may be installed at any height and do not
need to be all in the same plane. A regular pattern is most
easily installed using a suspended ceiling grid. Inverted
aluminium U-channels are fixed to the underside of the
grid. The baffles are then secured to the U-channel using
self tapping screws. Alternatively, individual baffles may
be suspended using galvanised wire and S hooks.
FIG A16.
SOUND ABSORPTIVE TREATMENT OF
METAL PAN CEILING.
WALLS.
Sound absorbing walls may be constructed by retaining
rockwool or glasswool behind spaced timber panels as
shown in Figure A15. Alternative treatments include
fixing the sound absorbing batts behind perforated
plywood, perforated Gyprock
plasterboard or metal.
The use of a black matt tissue finish or Bradford
Ultraphon
on the batts is recommended for aesthetic

reasons.
Sound absorbing panels may also be fixed to walls as
shown in Figure A17. The decorative facing chosen
should be acoustically transparent (with low flow
resistance) to maximise the amount of sound reaching the
insulation behind. Open weave fabrics are suitable for
these applications.
Industrial Acoustic
Design Criteria.
Industrial noise is a by-product of the mechanical
age. Its nuisance value has long been tolerated as an
unavoidable consequence of labour-saving plant and
equipment.
But we now know that excessive noise is not just
annoying - it is also dangerous. It causes both temporary
and permanent hearing damage, body fatigue, nervous
stress, and adversely affects workplace safety by masking
communication and warning signals. Hearing loss cannot
be cured.
It is now generally accepted that continued exposure
to noise levels of 80dB(A) or more will result in hearing
loss. Already researchers are suggesting the danger level
may be even lower. The increasing number of people
suffering from noise induced hearing loss underlines the
importance of controlling noise in factories.
Noise levels can be reduced and excessive noise should
no longer be considered an occupational hazard.
Some of the many means by which noise can be
controlled will be discussed in this brochure.
The costs of noise control may appear high, especially
when correcting existing problems, but the costs of
workers compensation, non-compliance with legislation,
and industrial disharmony, in the long term, can be
much more expensive. The fatiguing aspects of noise
may lead to lowered productivity and the cost of this in
an ongoing situation is also high.
NOISE LEVELS.
The first criterion considered here is usually noise
legislation. There are essentially two components:
(i) the noise level to which employees may be exposed,
i.e. Occupational Noise.
(ii) the noise level that the factory may emit to the
surrounding community.
In Australia The NSW Occupational Health & Safety
Regulation 1996 (effective 31 May 1997) states a place
of work is unsafe and a risk to health if any person is
exposed to noise levels:
TABLE A6.
INSULATION FOR NOISE REVERBERATION CONTROL.
Application Product Comment
Sports/Community Centre Bradford Glasswool Blanket faced with Cost effect way to add large
Walls/Roof. Thermoplast
980 Perforated Foil. quantity of absorption.

Insulation over Perforated Bradford Glasswool Blanket BMF High absorption capacity
Plasterboard or Perforated Metal. or Flexitel
BMF/Ultraphon
. enhanced by air space behind

ceiling.
Absorption Behind Cinema Screens. Bradford Supertel
BMF/Ultraphon
Optimum sound absorption

over all frequencies.
Cinema Wall. Bradford Supertel
or Ultratel
- Absorptive and
Front Runner faced. aesthetic facing.
Bottling/Canner Plant. Bradford Acoustic Baffles. Convenient way to add
absorption to reverberant
areas where conventional
methods are not available.
Acoustic Enclosure. Bradford Acousticlad
For industrial noise control

(Fibertex
350 + Perforated Metal). Fibertex
Rockwool products are

excellent acoustic absorbers.
Sound Recording Studio. Bradford Fibertex
350 Rockwool For high level of sound

BMF or Ultraphon
faced or absorption at low frequencies,

Bradford Glasswool Ultratel
use 100mm thickness.

Conference Room. Bradford Ductel
faced . High absorption with

with front runner compression resistance and
aesthetic surface.
BMF = Black Matt Facing
a) that exceed an 8 hour noise level equivalent of
85dB(A) or
b) Peak noise levels of 140dB (Lin) or more.
For every 3dB(A) above 85dB(A), the exposure time
is halved, so that four hours exposure would be permitted
at 88dB(A) and two hours at 91dB(A) and so on.
Conversely, every 3dB(A) lowering of the noise levels
doubles the time for which employees may be exposed.
Therefore 16 hours of exposure would permitted at
82dB(A). Compliance with noise legislation does not
therefore automatically ensure that employees will not
suffer noise induced hearing loss.
Permitted noise emission levels depend upon the
l ocation of the f actor y and its proximity to
residences/offices nearby. The Environment Protection
Authority (EPA) sets noise criteria for noise emissions
from industry.
The character of the noise is also important. High
frequency sounds are more annoying than sounds of low
frequency, while noise with prominent tonal components
is more annoying than broad band noise of the same
intensity. The hours of operation also affect the permitted
noise emission levels. Lower levels apply at night than
during the day.
Other aspects affected by noise level include:
SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY.
High noise levels above 70dB(A) can make verbal
communication extremely difficult and loss of speech
intelligibility can occur. This leads to misunderstandings
which can result in inefficient process operations, product
losses, unsafe working practices, and industrial unrest.
MACHINE OPERATION.
The sounds emitted by many machines convey
important information to operators on the functioning
of the machine. Excessive background noise may mask
these sounds, preventing early detection of machine
malfunction. Expensive repairs and loss of productivity
may result.
WARNING SIGNALS.
Many warning signals or alarms rely on sound to
attract peoples attention. Most alarms now incorporate
both visual (e.g. flashing lights) and audio signals, but it
is important to note that visual signals are only effective
for the line of sight, while audio signals are designed to
attract attention regardless of where an employee may be
looking. High background noise levels may mask these
warning signals, resulting in unsafe work practices and
inefficient process operation.
CONCENTRATION.
High noise levels are known to affect concentration
which leads to increased errors in machine operation
and failure to detect quality defects in product. Lack of
concentration can also be a safety hazard resulting in
injury to employees and equipment damage.
Each situation will have its own peculiarities so it is
not possible to set a universal permissible noise level for
all factories. Consideration of the above factors, together
with the costs involved, should permit a responsible
target noise level to be set.
Speech Privacy.
The need to preserve confidentiality of conversation
arises in many situations. Discussions in conference rooms
and executive offices should not be overheard. People
waiting in airport lounges or hotel lobbies wish to
converse freely. Intimate diners do not wish to share
their conversation with others in the restaurant. Acoustical
privacy is paramount in residential situations where walls
or floors abut adjoining residences. Bedrooms in one
residence need to be acoustically isolated from rooms in
other residences to avoid annoyance. Similarly impact
noise on hard floors can irritate people in rooms below.
The level of speech privacy required will depend on
the particular situation. Three categories may be
considered:
1. Partial coherence small portions of the conversation
may be intelligible to an uninvolved listener, but
he/she will not be able to follow the conversation as
a whole,
2. Incoherent an uninvolved listener can hear the
sound of conversation but it is not intelligible,
3. Inaudibility no sound whatever can be heard by an
uninvolved listener.
Speech privacy is a two-way consideration. It may be
required to protect the confidentiality of conversation (eg.
a boardroom meeting) or on the other hand, to avoid
distraction of uninvolved listeners (eg. office workers or
people in a library).
Typically in commercial applications, noises such as
conversations, telephones ringing etc can be heard from
one office to another (also known as crosstalk). This can
cause disruption, annoyance, and decreased productivity.
Crosstalk usually occurs from sound flanking via the:
light weight ceilings (refer to Ceilings, page 18 for
diagrams showing installation ).
Air conditioning ducts (refer to Air Conditioning
Noise Control, page 36).
Windows and doors.
APPENDIX B.
Floor/Ceiling Systems.
CSR 821 / / 53 67
CSR 823 / / 53 67
CSR 824 / / 57 70
CSR 825 53 56 48 67
30/30/30
+ BCA FPC
CSR 829 57 50 70
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 826 54 49 68
60/60/60
+ RISF 30
CSR 827 57 51 70
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
System Fire Weighted Impact BRADFORD Insulation Material
N Resistance Level Sound Insulation GYPROCK
Plasterboard Ceiling Lining

FRL Rw Class
CSR 800 / / 27
CSR 811 / / 44
R2.0 Bradford GOLD BATTS
1 x 13mm GYPROCK Plasterboard CD
CSR 815 46
CSR 801 / / 38
No insulation
No plasterboard
CSR 802 / / 42
CSR 805 36
No insulation
1 x 13mm Gyprock FYRCHEK Plasterboard
30/30/30
+ BCA FPC
30/30/30
+ BCA FPC
CSR 819 50
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 816 47
60/60/60
+ RISF 30
CSR 817 52
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 818 55
120/120/120
+ RISF 60
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 806 44
60/60/60
+ RISF 30
CSR 809 48
1x13mm+1x16mm Gyprock FYRCHEK Plasterboard
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 807 48
120/120/120
+ RISF 60
CSR 808 47
Framing
Method
RISF = Resistance to Incipient Spread of Fire. BCA FPC = Building Code of Australia Fire Protective Covering.
1 x 10 SOUNDCHEK Plasterboard
1 x 13 GYPROCK Plasterboard CD
TABLE B1.
FIRE AND ACOUSTIC CEILING SYSTEMS
UTILISING CSR BRADFORD INSULATION AND CSR GYPROCK PLASTERBOARD.
Detailed information on these and alternative CSR Fire and/or Acoustic Rated Ceiling Systems and Wall Systems
is published in the CSR Gyprock Fire and Acoustic Design Guide, NGYP500.
CSR 831 / / 48
CSR 833 / / 48
CSR 832 / / 53
CSR 834 / / 53
CSR 835 48
30/30/30
+ BCA FPC
CSR 839 55
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 836 51
60/60/60
+ RISF 30
CSR 837 55
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 838 58
120/120/120
+ RISF 60
RISF = Resistance to Incipient Spread of Fire. BCA FPC = Building Code of Australia Fire Protective Covering.
System Fire Weighted Impact BRADFORD Insulation Material
N Resistance Level Sound Insulation GYPROCK
Plasterboard Ceiling Lining

FRL Rw Class
Framing
Method
CSR 860 / / 50
R1.5 Bradford Glasswool ANTICON over purlins
R2.0 Bradford GOLD BATTS on ceiling
CSR 870 44
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 871 44
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 875 49
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 876 49
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 865 49
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 841 / / 54 67
CSR 845 54 67
30/30/30
+ BCA FPC
CSR 849 62 70
60/60/60
+ RISF 60
CSR 846 58 70
60/60/60
+ RISF 30
CSR 847 62 73
90/90/90
+ RISF 60
CSR 848 62 75
120/120/120
+ RISF 60
NOTE: Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Batts.
When using Bradford FIBERTEX
Rockwool Batts in the systems detailed in Table B1, R

w
or STC rating is
generally increased by 1 to 3 units. Please refer to the CSR Bradford Insulation Acoustic Design Guide or contact
your regional CSR Bradford Insulation office for more information.
TABLE B1.
(continued)
Table C2 details CSR Bradfords Acoustilag systems using CSR Gyprock
plasterboard to achieve the strict STC noise

requirements specified by the BCA (Building Code of Australia).
TABLE C1. BRADFORD ACOUSTILAG SPECIFICATIONS.
Product SoundLagg
Insulation Standard Roll Noise Reduction

Mass (kg) Thickness (mm) Size dB(A)*
Bradford ACOUSTILAG
20 3.0 25 5m x 1200mm 20dB(A)

Bradford ACOUSTILAG
23 4.5 50 5m x 1200mm 23dB(A)

Bradford ACOUSTILAG
26 8 50 3m x 1200mm 26dB(A)
* Noise Reduction refers to Insertion Loss which is the difference between the sum of the A-weighted Sound
Power Levels of the lagged and unlagged pipes.
The Acoustilag Noise Reductions of 20 23 and 26dB(A) ONLY apply to water flowing through PVC pipes.
TABLE C2. BRADFORD ACOUSTILAG
SYSTEMS.
System STC Bradford CSR Gyprock
Bradford
Acoustilag Plasterboard Insulation
BAS 01 STC 30 ACOUSTILAG
20 1 layer 10mm CSR

Gyprock
Plasterboard -

Gyprock
Plasterboard Glasswool R1.5

BAS 03 ACOUSTILAG

Gyprock


Gyprock
Plasterboard Glasswool, R2.0

BAS 05 ACOUSTILAG

Gyprock

APPENDIX C.
CSR BRADFORD INSULATION PRODUCT DATA.
CSR Bradford Insulation offers three types of Acoustilag
: Acoustilag
20, Acoustilag
23 and Acoustilag
26
Bradford Acoustilag
.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
1
0
0
1
2
5
1
6
0
2
0
0
2
5
0
3
1
5
4
0
0
5
0
0
6
3
0
8
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
5
0
1
6
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
5
0
0
3
1
5
0
4
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
6
3
0
0
8
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Frequency (Hz)
S
o
u
o
n
d

P
o
w
e
r

L
e
v
e
l
s

(
d
B
)
r
e
:

1

p
W
Bare Pipe
Acoustilag
TM
20
Acoustilag
TM
23
Acoustilag
TM
26
FIG C1. BRADFORD ACOUSTILAG
INSERTION LOSSES.
TABLE C3. BRADFORD ACOUSTILAG
INSERTION LOSSES.
Product Sound Insertion Loss Insertion
(Octave Band Centre Frequency HZ) Loss
125* 250* 500* 1000* 2000* 4000* 8000* Overall*
ACOUSTILAG
20 4 -1 4 14 21 30 29 20
ACOUSTILAG
23 1 -4 8 17 27 42 50 23
ACOUSTILAG
26 3 -2 10 20 29 43 50 26
* Sound Insertion Loss is the difference in sound power levels of a bare (unlagged) pipe versus the lagged (insulated) pipe in 1/3 octave bands
from 100Hz to 10kHz. Noise source: water flowing through PVC pipes. National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) test reports are available on
request.
Bradford Acousticlad
.
TABLE C4. ACOUSTICLAD
TEST CONFIGURATIONS AND ACOUSTIC TEST RESULTS.

All five Bradford Acousticlad
samples tested and detailed in Tables C4 and C5 use perforated aluminium panel with
Bradford 50mm thick Fibertex
350 Rockwool -(60kg/m

3
) Insulation.
Test Report Acousticlad Test Sample Configuration Noise Reduction
Number Perforated Coefficient
% Open Area NRC
ATF 771 15% (60kg/m
3
) Insulation with black matt
tissue between the rockwool and
Acousticlad
face. NRC 1.00

ATF 772 25% as above NRC 0.95
ATF 773 40% as above NRC 1.00
ATF 774 15% 23mm thick Mylar film between unfaced
Bradford Fibertex
350 Rockwool and

Acousticlad
perforated aluminium. NRC 0.90

ATF 775 15% 50mm thick Bradford Fibertex
350 Rockwool
Insulation with black matt tissue between the
rockwool and perforated aluminium. Timber spacers
supporting panels with average air gap 30mm. NRC 1.05
Note: All acoustic tests in Table above conducted with Acousticlad
perforated aluminium panels (0.7mm thick), with Bradford 50mm

thick Fibertex
350 Rockwool (60kg/m

3
) insulation.
Acoustic tests (ATF 771-775) were conducted in reverberation room at the National Acoustic Laboratories, Chatswood, Sydney,
Australia.
TABLE C5. ACOUSTICLAD
ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS IN 1/3 OCTAVE BANDS.

NAL Test Report Number ATF 771 ATF 772 ATF 773 ATF 774 ATF 775
Frequency Acoustical Acoustical Acoustical Acoustical Acoustical
Hz Absorption Absorption Absorption Absorption Absorption
100 0.20 0.25 0.20 0.40 0.35
125 0.30 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.35
160 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.65 0.55
200 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.85 0.90
250 0.85 0.80 0.80 0.90 1.10
315 1.00 0.90 1.00 1.00 1.10
400 1.05 1.05 1.00 1.00 1.15
500 1.05 1.05 1.10 1.00 1.10
630 1.05 1.00 1.05 1.05 1.10
800 1.05 1.10 1.00 0.95 1.00
1000 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.90 1.00
1250 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.85 1.00
1600 1.00 0.95 1.00 0.80 0.95
2000 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.80 1.00
2500 0.95 1.00 1.00 0.75 1.05
3150 1.00 1.00 1.05 0.70 0.95
4000 1.00 0.95 1.00 0.65 0.95
5000 0.90 0.95 0.95 0.60 0.90
Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) 1.00 0.95 1.00 0.90 1.05
Sound Absorption Coefficients.
TABLE C6. NOISE REDUCTION COEFFICIENTS BRADFORD ROCKWOOL PRODUCTS.
Bradford Insulation Rockwool products exhibit the following sound absorption coefficients when tested in accordance
with AS1045 - 1988, Reverberation Room Method.
Product Facing Thickness Frequency (Hz)
mm 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 5000 NRC*
Bradford Rockwool
Ceiling Batts R 2.0 Nil 80 0.57 1.00 1.20 1.06 1.11 1.11 1.10 1.10
R 2.5 100 0.75 1.20 1.19 1.07 1.10 1.09 1.10 1.15
Bradford Rockwool
Building Blanket R1.2 Nil 50 0.24 0.73 0.93 1.10 1.12 1.12 1.14 0.96
R1.2 BMF 50 0.30 0.75 0.90 0.95 0.95 1.00 1.00 0.90
R1.2 THERMOFOIL
HD Perf. 50 0.20 0.80 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.95 0.85 0.95

Bradford Rockwool
Wall & Floor Batts R1.5 Nil 75 0.22 0.49 0.96 0.96 1.02 1.08 1.09 0.85
R 2.0 95 0.57 1.00 1.20 1.06 1.11 1.11 1.10 1.10
Bradford Rockwool
FIBERTEX
350 Nil 25 0.18 0.29 0.69 0.86 1.05 1.20 1.16 0.72
R-rated Ductliner 50 0.21 0.69 1.13 1.15 1.16 1.18 1.14 1.03
THERMOFOIL
HD Perf. 25 0.14 0.38 0.87 1.07 1.06 0.90 0.79 0.85

50 0.31 0.83 1.16 0.99 0.90 0.78 0.73 0.97
BMF 25 0.15 0.33 0.74 0.94 1.03 1.04 0.98 0.76
50 0.36 0.76 1.19 1.09 1.03 1.04 0.90 1.01
Bradford Rockwool
FIBERTEX
450 Nil 25 0.11 0.20 0.80 1.10 10.2 1.12 1.20 0.77
50 0.29 0.76 1.07 1.10 1.09 1.07 1.09 1.01
THERMOFOIL
HD Perf. 25 0.12 0.27 0.80 1.17 1.16 0.80 0.86 0.85

50 0.27 0.78 1.23 1.17 1.13 1.00 0.94 1.08
ULTRAPHON
50 0.43 0.99 1.09 1.11 1.04 1.03 1.03 1.06

ACOUSTITUFF
50 0.54 0.99 1.07 0.81 0.57 0.33 0.25 0.85

Bradford Rockwool
FIBERTEX
650 Nil 25 0.21 0.29 0.52 1.14 1.02 0.97 1.06 0.74
50 0.59 0.97 1.18 1.00 1.04 1.02 1.03 1.05
Bradford Rockwool
Acoustic Baffle Mylar 50 0.17 0.41 0.87 1.22 1.12 0.95 0.90 0.91
* NRC: Arithmetic average of absorption coefficients of frequency 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz and 2000Hz.
TABLE C7. NOISE REDUCTION COEFFICIENTS BRADFORD GLASSWOOL PRODUCTS.
Bradford Insulation Glasswool products exhibit the following sound absorption coefficients when tested in accordance
with AS1045 : 1988, Reverberation Room Method.
Product Facing R-Value Frequency (Hz)
(Thickness) 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 5000 NRC*
Bradford Glasswool Nil R 2.0 0.60 0.98 1.03 1.05 1.14 1.10 1.09 1.05
GOLD BATTS
for Ceilings (105mm)

Bradford Glasswool Gold Nil R2.0 0.57 0.78 0.97 0.91 0.96 1.00 0.95 0.91
Batts for Walls & Floors (95mm)
R 1.5 0.34 0.86 1.04 0.41 0.20 0.07 0.04 0.66

ANTICON
LD Plain (55 mm)

Roofing Blanket
THERMOFOIL
R 2.0 0.60 1.21 0.90 0.41 0.28 0.10 0.12 0.70

LD Plain (75 mm)
THERMOFOIL
R2.5 0.72 1.43 0.82 0.43 0.26 0.14 0.08 0.75

` LD Plain (95 mm)
R 1.8 0.14 1.02 0.82 0.42 0.38 0.29 0.38 0.66

ACOUSTICON
LD Plain (75 mm)

Bradford Glasswool Nil R1.2 0.25 0.65 0.80 0.90 0.90 1.00 1.05 0.80
Building Blanket (50 mm)
Nil R1.8 0.35 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.90 1.10 1.05 0.85
(75 mm)
THERMOFOIL
R1.2 0.30 0.65 0.90 1.00 0.90 0.85 0.85 0.86

HD Perf (50mm)
THERMOFOIL
R1.8
HD Perf (75 mm) 0.35 0.75 1.00 1.10 0.95 0.85 0.85 0.95
BMF 50 mm 0.25 0.70 0.80 0.95 0.90 0.95 1.05 0.84
BMF 75mm 0.35 0.75 0.85 0.85 0.90 1.00 1.05 0.86
Bradford Glasswool Nil 50 mm 0.34 0.86 1.04 0.41 0.20 0.07 0.04 0.65
Ceiling Panel Overlays
Bradford Glasswool Nil 25 0.12 0.74 1.07 0.52 0.26 0.14 0.08 0.65
MULTITEL
18kg/m
3
25 0.10 0.33 0.66 0.90 1.03 0.79 0.76 0.75

FLEXITEL
24kg/m
3
HD Perf. 50 0.39 0.84 1.08 1.20 1.06 1.01 0.95 1.05
BMF 25 0.09 0.33 0.57 0.73 0.90 0.99 1.01 0.65
50 0.27 0.69 1.08 1.06 1.11 1.10 1.09 1.00
NOTE:
Data included in this Acoustic Design Guide may be used as a guide for design purposes. However, CSR Bradford
Insulation recommends that an acoustic consultant be referenced for critical design applications, or where
interpolation of data may be required.
Acoustic testing is subject to variation from laboratory to laboratory.
TABLE C7. (continued)
NOISE REDUCTION COEFFICIENTS BRADFORD GLASSWOOL PRODUCTS.
Bradford Insulation Glasswool products exhibit the following sound absorption coefficients when tested in accordance
with AS1045 : 1988, Reverberation Room Method.
Product Facing Thickness Frequency (Hz)
mm 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 5000 NRC*
SUPERTEL
32 kg/m
3
/ 50 0.27 0.75 1.12 1.12 1.07 1.04 1.03 1.01
Ductliner 75 0.52 0.94 1.24 1.13 1.06 1.09 1.02 1.09
THERMOFOIL
25 0.12 0.56 1.18 0.53 0.17 0.10 0.12 0.60

HD Plain 50 0.46 1.10 0.92 0.46 0.19 0.09 0.06 0.65
THERMOFOIL
25 0.08 0.39 0.73 1.02 1.12 0.84 0.75 0.81

HD Perf. 30 0.12 0.48 0.84 0.86 0.87 0.94 0.87 0.81
50 0.23 0.71 0.99 1.09 0.97 0.78 0.59 0.94
75 0.52 1.02 1.15 1.07 1.02 0.90 0.83 1.06
BMF 13 0.09 0.14 0.29 0.56 0.72 0.87 0.90 0.40
25 0.07 0.26 0.65 0.93 1.04 1.03 1.00 0.72
50 0.24 0.62 1.00 1.07 1.12 1.15 1.17 0.95
THERMOFOIL HD Perf
+ Mylar
film 50 0.32 1.14 0.94 0.48 0.22 0.06 0.03 0.70

Perforated Metal 25 0.13 0.32 0.59 0.83 0.99 0.97 0.94 0.68
50 0.31 0.74 1.00 1.09 1.06 1.03 0.98 0.95
ULTRAPHON
25 0.10 0.39 0.79 1.00 1.05 1.00 0.95 0.81

30 0.13 0.52 0.97 1.08 0.96 0.90 0.90 0.88
50 0.30 1.01 1.31 1.20 1.05 0.97 0.95 1.14
ACOUSTITUFF
25 0.14 0.45 0.99 0.97 0.55 0.29 0.25 0.75

30 0.16 0.46 0.86 0.95 0.45 0.25 0.18 0.71
50 0.33 1.01 1.17 0.99 0.64 0.34 0.28 0.95
Premium Ductliner/ 50 0.34 0.65 1.23 1.11 1.08 1.02 0.98 1.02
ULTRATEL
THERMOFOIL
25 0.12 0.31 0.81 1.09 1.09 0.91 0.89 0.83

48kg/m
3
HD Perf. 75 0.69 1.19 1.15 1.09 1.03 0.92 0.90 1.12
BMF 25 0.08 0.30 0.71 0.99 1.07 1.08 1.16 0.77
50 0.25 0.70 1.13 1.13 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.01
ACOUSTITUFF
25 0.05 0.55 0.65 0.90 0.70 0.50 0.50 0.70

50 0.30 0.75 0.90 0.85 0.65 0.50 0.60 0.79
QUIETEL
130 kg/m
3
25 0.07 0.28 0.74 1.04 1.13 1.09 1.11 0.80
50 0.36 0.81 1.12 1.18 1.11 1.12 1.22 1.05
THERMATEL
44 kg/m
3
75 0.51 1.10 1.18 1.08 1.02 1.03 1.07 1.09
25 0.06 0.38 0.93 1.10 1.10 1.00 0.87 0.88

DUCTEL
80 kg/m
3
HD Perf. 50 0.35 0.91 1.15 1.12 1.08 0.93 0.85 1.06
Insertion Loss Data.
TABLE C8. STATIC INSERTION LOSS OF INTERNAL DUCT LININGS.
Bradford Rockwool exhibits the following when tested in accordance with Static Insertion Loss as internal duct linings
AS1277 : 1983 Acoustics - Measurement Procedure For Ducted Silencers. Test Report 300610/1-97.
Octave Band Centre Frequency (Hz) 63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
Static Insertion Loss (dB) for 1.2m 2.5 9.8 11.7 16.0 14.5 12.8 11.5 11.3
Insertion Loss (dB loss 600x600x4000 test duct)
Product Facing Thickness Octave Band Centre Frequency (Hz)
mm 63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Bradford Glasswool BMF 50 1.4 4.6 16.8 53.2 51.6 32.4 24.4
DUCTLINER
THERMOFOIL
32 kg/m
3
HD Perf.
50 1.6 5.3 18.9 53.4 48.3 31.8 24.6
23m Melinex
+ THERMOFOIL
50 1.9 5.7 21.1 26.6 16.7 12.9 12.8

HD Perf.
ACOUSTITUFF
50 2.5 4.7 21.3 46.8 39.3 23.3 17.4

ULTRAPHON
50 2.0 5.0 20.9 51.5 46.6 30.3 27.5

Bradford Premium
Ductliner ULTRATEL ACOUSTITUFF
50 4.9 14.2 39.0 37.0 22.4 18.6

48 kg/m
3
Bradford FIBERTEX
THERMOFOIL
DUCTLINER HD Perf. 50 2.8 5.8 19.9 56.6 49.1 32.4 24.6

60 kg/m
3
TABLE C9(a). Static Insertion Loss in dB of Silencer utilising two (2) modular side splitters, 150mm thick
ULTRAPHON
-faced Glasswool with a single 300mm wide throat with two (2) test lengths of 1200mm and
2400mm in a 610 x 610mm test duct.
TABLE C9(b). Static Insertion Loss in dB of Silencer utilising two (2) modular side splitters, two (2) 50mm thick
ULTRAPHON
-faced Glasswool and two (2) 100mm thick double-sided ULTRAPHON
-faced splitters with

three (3) 100mm wide throats with two (2) test lengths of 1200mm and 1800mm in a 610 x 610mm test duct.
TABLE C9(c). Static Insertion Loss in dB of Silencer utilising two (2) modular side splitters, 100mm thick
ULTRAPHON
-faced Glasswool with a single 180mm wide throat with two (2) test lengths of 1200mm and
1800mm in a 510 x 380mm test duct.
TABLE C9(d). Static Insertion Loss in dB of Silencer utilising two (2) modular side splitters, 50mm thick
ULTRAPHON
-faced Fibertex 450 Rockwool with a single 180mm wide throat with two (2) test lengths of
1200mm and 1800mm in a 510 x 380mm test duct.
BRADFORD ROCKWOOL FIBERTEX 450 80kg
2
TABLE C9: INSERTION LOSS DATA FOR ULTRAPHON SILENCERS.
Bradford Ultraphon
facing exhibits the following characteristics when tested to AS1277 : 1983 Acoustics -
Measurement Procedure For Ducted Silencers.
Air Flow Resistivity.
TABLE C11. BRADFORD GLASSWOOL AIR FLOW RESISTIVITY.
Bradford Insulation glasswool products achieve Air Flow Resistivities shown, when tested in accordance with
ASTM C522: Method for airflow resistance of acoustical materials.
TABLE C10. BRADFORD ROCKWOOL AIR FLOW RESISTIVITY.
The Bradford Rockwool range achieves the following Air Flow Resistivities, when tested in accordance with ASTM
C522 : Method for airflow resistance of acoustical materials.
Product Air Flow Resistivity (mks Rayls/m)
Bradford Rockwool Building Blanket 13000
Bradford FIBERTEX
350 Rockwool 22000

Bradford FIBERTEX
450 Rockwool 33000

Bradford FIBERTEX
650 Rockwool 53000

Bradford FIBERTEX
HD Rockwool 70000
Product Air Flow Resistivity (mks Rayls/m)
Bradford Glasswool Building Blanket 5600
15300
16200
(Plain) 18200
(Foil) 23400
(Plain) 31500
(Foil) 30300
55600
absorption coefficient ():
attenuation:
decibel (dB):
flanking transmission:
frequency:
reverberation:
British thermal unit (Btu):
calorie (cal):
capacity, thermal or heat::
conductance, thermal:
surface heat transfer
coefficient (f):
conduction
conductivity, thermal (k):
convection:
dewpoint
emissivity
humidity, absolute:
humidity, relative:
Kelvin K:
permeance:
permeability:
radiation:
resistance, thermal:
resistivity, thermal:
specific heat:
transmittance, thermal or
overall heat transfer
coefficient
The ratio of the sound absorbed by a surface to the total incident sound energy.
The reduction in intensity of a sound signal between two points in a transmission system.
An acoustic unit of sound level based on 10 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio
of two comparable sound intensities.
The transmission of sound between two points by any indirect path.
The number of vibrations per second. The unit is the Hertz (Hz), equivalent to one
complete oscillation per second.
The persistence of sound within a space due to repeated reflections at the boundaries.
Heat required to raise the temperature of 1 lb of water 1F.
Heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1C.
Heat required to raise the temperature of a given mass of a substance by one degree
This equals the mass times the specific heat in the appropriate units (metric or imperial)
Time rate of heat flow per unit area between two parallel surfaces of a body under
steady conditions when there is unit temperature difference between the two surfaces.
Time rate of heat flow per unit area under steady conditions between a surface and air
when there is unit temperature difference between them.
Heat transfer from one point to another within a body without appreciable
displacement of particles of the body.
Time rate of heat flow per unit area and unit thickness of an homogeneous material
under steady conditions when unit temperature gradient is maintained in the direction
perpendicular to the area.
Heat transfer from a point in a fluid by movement and dispersion of portions of the fluid.
Temperature at which a sample of air with given water vapour content becomes
saturated when cooled at constant pressure.
Capacity of a surface to emit radiant energy; defined as the ratio of the energy emitted
by the surface to that emitted by an ideal black body at the same temperature.
Mass of water vapour per unit volume of air.
Ratio of the partial pressure of water vapour in a given sample of air to the saturation
pressure of water vapour at the same temperature.
The unit of thermodynamic temperature. For the purpose of heat transfer, it is an
interval of temperature equal to 1C.
Time rate of transfer of water vapour per unit area through a material when the vapour
pressure difference along the transfer path is unity.
Permeance for unit thickness of a material.
Heat transfer through space from one body to another by electromagnetic wave motion.
Reciprocal of thermal conductance, or ratio of material thickness to thermal conductivity
Reciprocal of thermal conductivity.
Ratio of the thermal capacity of a given mass of a substance to that of the same mass of
water at 15C.
Time rate of heat flow per unit area under steady conditions from the fluid on one side
of a barrier to the fluid on the other side when there is unit temperature difference
between the two fluids.
APPENDIX D.
Terminology.
ACOUSTIC.
THERMAL.
CSR Bradford Insulation is a business of CSR Limited A.B.N. 90 000 001 276.
CSR Limited is the owner of the following trade marks. Acousticlad
, Acousticon
, Acoustilag
, Anticon
, Bradfix
, Bradford
, Comfort Plus
, Ductel
,
Fibermesh
, Fibertex
, Fireseal
, Flexitel
, Flex-skin
, Gold Batts
, Multitel
, Quietel
, SoundScreen
, Spanseal
, Specitel
, Supertel
, Thermaclad
, Thermatel
,
Thermodeck
, Thermofoil
, Thermokraft
, Thermoplast
, Thermotuff
, Ultratel
.
Warranty.
CSR Limited warrants its Bradford Insulation products to be free of defects in materials and manufacture.
If a CSR Bradford Insulation product does not meet our standard, we will, at our option, replace or repair it, supply
an equivalent product, or pay for doing one of these. This warranty excludes all other warranties and liability for
damage in connection with defects in our products, other than those compulsorily imposed by legislation.
Health and Safety Information.
Information on any known health risks of our products and how to handle them safely is displayed on the
packaging and/or the documentation accompanying them. Additional information is listed in product
Material Safety Data Sheets available from your regional CSR Bradford Insulation office or visit our website.
Bradford Insulation
AUSTRALIA.
Glasswool factory, Ingleburn NSW.
Rockwool factory, Clayton VIC.
Thermofoil factory, Dandenong VIC.
ASIA.
Glasswool factory, Zhuhai, China.
Rockwool factory, Dongguan, China.
Rockwool factory, Rayong, Thailand.
Rockwool factory, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Flexible Duct factory, Singapore.
Manufacturing Facilities.
CSR Bradford Insulation is a leading insulation manufacturer in Australia and Asia
with manufacturing facilities located throughout the region.
Sales Offices.
CSR Building Solutions Website.
www.csr.com.au/bradford
AUSTRALIA.
State Phone Fax
Head Office 61 2 9765 7100 61 2 9765 7029
NSW (02) 9765 7100 (02) 9765 7052
ACT (02) 6239 2611 (02) 6239 3305
VIC (03) 9265 4000 (03) 9265 4011
TAS (03) 6272 5677 (03) 6272 2387
QLD (07) 3875 9600 (07) 3875 9699
SA (08) 8344 0640 (08) 8344 0644
NT (08) 8984 4070 (08) 8947 0034
WA (08) 9365 1666 (08) 9365 1656
INTERNATIONAL.
Country Phone Fax
New Zealand 64 9579 9059 64 9571 1017
Hong Kong 852 2754 0877 852 2758 2005
China (Glasswool) 86 756 551 1448 86 756 551 1447
China (Rockwool) 86 769 611 1401 86 769 611 2900
Thailand 66 2736 0924 66 2736 0934
Malaysia 60 3 3341 3444 60 3 3341 5779
Singapore 65 861 4722 65 862 3533
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D E S I G N G U I D E

Bradford Glasswool ACOUSTILAG

Bradford Rockwool FIBERTEX

Rockwool with a perforated metal

Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty

Bradford Glasswool ANTICON

Blanket R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Rockwool R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty

Sarking Medium, Heavy Duty,

Sarking Medium, Extra Heavy Duty, Safety

Pipe Insulation ACOUSTILAG

Pipe Insulation Stocked by CSR Bradford Insulation

Rockwool Ceiling Batts R1.5 - R2.0

Rockwool Wall/Floor Batts R1.5 - R2.0

Specialty installation system

Specialty facings available

Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty

Bradford Glasswool ANTICON

Blanket R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Rockwool R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty

Sarking Medium, Heavy Duty,

Sarking Medium, Extra Heavy Duty, Safety

Pipe Insulation ACOUSTILAG

Pipe Insulation Stocked by CSR Bradford Insulation

Rockwool Ceiling Batts R1.5 - R2.0

Rockwool Wall/Floor Batts R1.5 - R2.0

Specialty installation system

Specialty facings available

R1.5, R2.0, R2.5 Faced Light,

Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty

Rockwool R1.5, R2.0 Faced Light,

Blanket Medium, Heavy Duty or

Bradford Glasswool SUPERTEL

350 Rockwool 50 - 100mm

Rockwool Partition Batts 45, 70mm

Board 25-100mm, Factory Applied

450 Rockwool 25-100mm,

Pipe Insulation ACOUSTILAG

Pipe Insulation Stocked by CSR Bradford Insulation

Bradford Glasswool FLEXITEL

350 Rockwool Perforated 750P

Bradford Glasswool FLEXITEL

Bradford Glasswool QUIETEL

Rockwool DUCTLINER ULTRAPHON

Bradford Glasswool SUPERTEL

Bradford Glasswool ULTRATEL

(Quietel 13mm - 50mm)

Perforated 750P THERMOFOIL

Bradford Glasswool DUCTLINER ULTRAPHON

Rockwool DUCTLINER 25 100mm, R1.5 & R0.9

R1.5 & R0.9

Flexible Ducting Available ex-Singapore

Flexible Ducting Available ex-Singapore

with BMF (Black Matt Facing Tissue),

or other specialty facing.

Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Batts

with BMF (Black Matt Facing Tissue),

or other specialty facing.

Bradford Glasswool Ceiling Batts

with BMF (Black Matt Facing Tissue),

or other specialty facing.